Amylin seduced by $5.3 billion bid from Bristol-Myers; AstraZeneca chips in for share of the action

Having rejected a media reported $22 a share offer from the company earlier this year, US biotech firm Amylin (Nasdaq: AMLN) has now accepted a cash $31 per share takeover bid from the same drug major, Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: MBY), it was announced late last Friday. B-MS has been seeking to enhance its product portfolio to replace its top selling drug, Plavix (clopidogrel; co-marketing with originator France’s Sanofi), which is now facing generic competition.

The deal puts a value of around $5.3 billion on Amylin, which following the original rumored bid put itself up for sale, apparently attracting offers during the review processes from the likes of Merck & Co, Sanofi and AstraZeneca.

The total value of the transaction, including Amylin’s net debt and a contractual payment obligation to former partner Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), together totaling about $1.7 billion, is around $7 billion. The acquisition has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies and Amylin’s directors have recommended shareholders to accept the offer.