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’Bid hopes fade for Smith & Nephew
No prizes for guessing one of the biggest fallers in the FTSE 100 on Monday morning.
It’s Smith & Nephew, which has slipped 4 per cent after it emerged that Johnson & Johnson wants put its $28bn cash pile to work in Switzerland by acquiring a medical devices company called Synthes.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Monday,
- Synthes confirms takeover talks with Johnson & Johnson — statement.
- Philips to divest TV business – Q1 profit below expectations — statement.
- Arkadiy Abramovich acquires 26 per cent stake in Crosby Asset Management – statement.
The bid story that won’t go away
More on those Smith & Nephew bid rumours, this time from Merrill Lynch, whose investment bankers have reportedly been trying to put the medical devices group together with a heavily indebted US rival.
One for the M&A watch list [updated with added confusion]
Here we go again…
Friday’s Daily Telegraph:
US orthopaedics giant Biomet is set to begin informal talks with Smith & Nephew (S&N) about a potential £15bn merger….
However, because of the levels of debt attached to Biomet – $5.9bn – a cash acquisition would not be possible,
Bid or no bid for Smith & Nephew?
Did Smith & Nephew receive a bid of more than 750p a share from Johnson & Johnson before Christmas?
The unsatisfactory answer after a weekend of frenzied speculation (and a big run-up in the S&N share price on Monday morning) is that we still don’t know.
Fair disclosure – UK takeover edition
What’s this? Another UK company deciding not to reveal a takeover approach in spite of persistent bid speculation?
Looks that way. And this one is a FTSE 100 constituent.
From Mark Kleinman of Sky News:
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Friday;
- Johnson & Johnson in talks over €24.75 per share offer for Crucell — statement.
- Nando’s Group makes cash offer for Clapham House, owner of the Gourmet Burger Kitchen — statement.
Boston Sci to pay J&J $716m
Boston Scientific Corp will pay Johnson & Johnson $716m to settle more than a dozen patent dispute lawsuits involving coronary stents and other heart devices, the companies said on Tuesday, reports Reuters.
Vaccines give a boost to pharma M&A
A recent flurry of deals in the pharmaceutical sector highlights what savvy investors have known for some time — vaccines are the new M&A targets.
The Wall Street Journal notes on Monday that the recent health scares over global pandemics and the growing involvement of governments in purchasing vaccines en masse have become key driving forces in the thriving world of pharma M&A.
J&J buys 18% stake in Crucell
Johnson & Johnson signalled its diversification into vaccines on Monday with an equity and investment deal in excess of €302m ($442m) in Crucell that could secure it control of the world’s first universal flu jab.
J&J seeks to cut price of Elan deal
Johnson & Johnson is negotiating to reduce the price of a previously announced $1.5bn deal with Elan Corp, after a US federal judge ruled this month that part of the deal breached a partnership between the Irish biotech firm and Biogen Idec,
J&J to buy stake in Ireland’s Elan
Johnson & Johnson on Thursday said it will buy an 18.4% stake in Irish biotech company Elan, in a $1.5bn bid to crack the elusive but potentially lucrative market for Alzheimer’s disease treatments, reports the WSJ.