MDVN Medivation, Inc. (MM)

By Nick Kostov 

PARIS-- Sanofi SA on Thursday said it has made an unsolicited 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 said it decided to go public with its offer after the U.S. company rebuffed its recent takeover approach.

In a letter dated April 28, Sanofi's CEO Olivier Brandicourt said he first discussed a possible takeover in a phone call with the San Francisco-based firm's CEO David Hung on March 25 and in a subsequent conversation on April 3.

Medivation expressed "no interest in discussing a transaction," said Sanofi.

"Given your unwillingness to meet or to hear our proposal, we sent you a letter on Friday, April 15, setting forth a proposal to acquire Medivation," Mr. Brandicourt wrote.

"We do not understand the delay in responding to our letter," he added.

Mr. 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."

The Paris-based drugmaker said its nonbinding, all-cash offer wouldn't be contingent on any financing conditions.

Sanofi is under pressure to launch new innovative medicines to make up for declining revenue in its all-important diabetes market after its blockbuster Lantus insulin went off patent in the U.S.

A possible takeover of the U.S. biotech firm could help the French drugmaker expand its new products portfolio and build a competitive position in a hotly tipped market where it is still a small player.

Medivation, a Nasdaq-listed company that focuses on hard to treat cancers, markets one prostate cancer therapy, called Xtandi, and has two additional oncology assets in clinical development.

But Medivation could draw interest from other companies.

Sanofi rivals 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.

An AstraZeneca spokesman declined to comment. Roche couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

The company's valuation is also very attractive. Medivation shares have taken a pummeling in the past year, falling from an all-time high of $66.03 in May to just $27.32 on February 8. That decline was partly due to a broader rout in the biotech sector, spurred by worries about the sustainability of high drug prices, and deepened by a setback to one of its key pipeline drugs.

A spokeswoman for Medivation didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Sanofi shares were down 1.9% at EUR75.54 ($85.8) in midday trading on Thursday.

Denise Roland also contributed to this article.

Write to Nick Kostov at Nick.Kostov@wsj.com and Noemie Bisserbe at noemie.bisserbe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 28, 2016 06:37 ET (10:37 GMT)

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