Sanofi Makes Offer for Medivation in $9.3 Billion Deal -- Update
28 April 2016 - 6:11PM
Dow Jones News
By Nick Kostov
PARIS--Sanofi SA on Thursday said it has made an all-cash offer
to acquire Medivation Inc. in a deal valued at $9.3 billion, the
French drugmaker's latest effort to expand its cancer-treatment
business.
Sanofi decided to go public with its takeover approach after the
U.S. company failed to respond to its earlier advances. Sanofi
shares fell 1.1% in early trading Thursday.
Chief Executive Olivier Brandicourt said the $52.50 a share
offer--a 50% premium to Medivation's average share price for the
two months before takeover speculation emerged--was "very
attractive."
In a letter to Medivation CEO David Hung dated April 28, Mr.
Brandicourt writes that Medivation, which focuses on treatments for
hard-to-cure cancers, would play a key part in the French
drugmaker's efforts to expand its cancer-treatment business.
Competitors such as Roche Holding AG and AstraZeneca PLC have
also been expanding their oncology portfolios and developing
immuno-oncology treatments that harness patients own immune systems
to fight cancer.
Medivation is a Nasdaq-listed company based in San Francisco
with one marketed prostate cancer therapy, called Xtandi, and two
additional oncology assets in clinical development.
"We do not understand the delay in responding to our letter,"
Mr. Brandicourt wrote. "In these circumstances we believe it is
appropriate to make this letter public, which we are doing
today."
In the letter, Mr. Brandicourt writes that he held a first call
with Mr. Hung to discuss a takeover on March 25, when Mr. Hung said
he was unwilling to meet. In a second call on April 3, Mr. Hung
said that having discussed the possible combination with his board,
Medivation concluded that it had no interest in discussing a
transaction, according to Mr. Brandicourt's letter.
Sanofi subsequently sent a letter on April 15 setting out its
proposal to buy the company for $52.50 a share. Medivation
acknowledged its receipt but didn't follow up, Mr. Brandicourt
wrote.
A spokeswoman for Medivation didn't immediately respond to a
request for comment.
Write to Nick Kostov at Nick.Kostov@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 28, 2016 03:56 ET (07:56 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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