J&J Reportedly Raises Actelion Bid

Nov. 30, 2016

Johnson & Johnson has reportedly raised its takeover offer for Actelion, Europe’s largest biotech firm after nearly two months of informal talks. Various reports state that Actelion wants J&J to become a major shareholder in a new entity, whereas J&J seeks a straightforward takeover.

J&J have allegedly significantly increased its offer from an earlier bid of about $26 billion—or $242 per share— that was rejected by Actelion as too low. Actelion shares jumped the most in more than 16 years on November 25 after Bloomberg reported J&J’s interest. Recent deals pharma include Pfizer’s $14 billion acquisition of Medivation.

Still, J&J are reportedly open to discussing other structures for the deal to win the backing of Actelion’s CEO and co-founder Jean-Paul Clozel. An acquisition would boost J&J's pipeline and diversify its prospects as its arthritis drug Remicade faces stiff competition from Pfizer’s biosimilar