SNY Sanofi

   By Brittney Laryea 
 

Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis & Co. recommended Friday that Medivation Inc. shareholders should support the company's current board and reject Sanofi SA's efforts to acquire the U.S. company in the ongoing takeover battle.

In May, the French drug maker approached Medivation's shareholders, calling for a vote to remove its entire board. Sanofi is seeking to engage in acquisition talks with Medivation, which has rejected Sanofi's unsolicited $9.3 billion takeover offer.

Medivation said Friday, "We are pleased with Glass Lewis' report, which underscores our belief that Sanofi's opportunistic proposal grossly undervalues Medivation."

A Sanofi representative said that based on conversations with Medivation shareholders, "there is overwhelming support for Medivation to undertake a sale process that includes Sanofi." The representative reiterated Sanofi's position that sales talks could lead to a higher offer.

Sanofi's offer April 28 valued Medivation at $52.50 a share, which represented a 50% premium to Medivation's average share price for the two months before takeover speculation emerged. Since April 28, Medivation shares have traded above the offer price.

Friday, amid a broader market selloff following Britain's surprise vote to leave the European Union, Medivation fell 2.2% to $57.95 in morning trading in New York. Sanofi's American Depositary Receipts dropped 4.8% to $39.22.

The Paris-based Sanofi, which has a history of hostile biotech takeovers, wants to buy Medivation to expand its cancer-treatment business.

Medivation focuses on hard-to-treat cancers and markets one prostate cancer therapy, Xtandi. The company also has two additional oncology assets in clinical development.

Write to Brittney Laryea at Brittney.Laryea@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 24, 2016 11:27 ET (15:27 GMT)

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