Sanofi Says It Will Try to Oust Medivation Board Members if Deal Talks Don't Start
May 05 2016 - 11:38AM
Dow Jones News
By Anne Steele
Sanofi SA on Thursday said it sent a letter to Medivation Inc.
saying it would try to remove and replace members of the U.S.
biotech firm's board if it didn't engage in takeover talks.
The Paris-based drugmaker, which has a record of hostile
takeovers in the biotech sector, said in the letter that it has had
"extensive conversations" with Medivation's shareholders and that
it believes there is "overwhelming support" for a deal.
"If you are not prepared to engage with us, we have no choice
but to go directly to your shareholders," the company said.
A Medivation representative wasn't immediately available for
comment.
Sanofi last week said it was ready to approach Medivation
shareholders after the board rejected its $9.3 billion offer,
opening the way for a protracted takeover battle. Sanofi's offer of
$52.50 a share was a 50% premium to Medivation's average share
price for the two months before takeover speculation emerged.
However, it is now below Medivation's share price, which closed
Wednesday at $59.06 in New York and added 1.6% Thursday
morning.
In the letter, Sanofi said it could increase its offer if the
Medivation board engages in good faith discussions.
Medivation, a Nasdaq-listed company that focuses on
hard-to-treat cancers, markets one prostate-cancer therapy, Xtandi,
and has two other oncology assets in clinical development.
A takeover of Medivation would allow Sanofi to significantly
expand its drugs portfolio at a time when it is under pressure to
launch innovative medicines to make up for declining sales of its
blockbuster Lantus insulin.
"We remain enthusiastic about a potential combination with
Medivation. We and our advisors stand ready to meet at any time so
we can work to quickly consummate a mutually beneficial
transaction," Sanofi said in the letter.
Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 05, 2016 11:23 ET (15:23 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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