Agilent Acquires BioTek Instruments
Agilent Technologies (NYSE: A) announced its largest deal ever in July 2019. The Santa Clara, California-based biotech purchased privately held BioTek Instruments for nearly $1.2 billion. Agilent provides bio-analytical solutions and services to the life sciences, diagnostics, and genomics, chemical analysis, communications and electronics industries worldwide. On a trailing 12-month basis it generated revenue of $5.0 billion, EBITDA of $1.2 billion and net income of $1.1 billion. BioTek designs, manufactures and distributes life science instrumentation worldwide. Its product line includes cell imaging systems, microplate readers, washers, dispensers, automated incubators and stackers.... Read More »
Array BioPharma Grabbed By Pfizer for $11.4 Billion
With AbbVie Inc.’s (NYSE: ABBV) surprise $87 billion bid for Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN) dominating headlines this week, you’d be forgiven for forgetting Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) just bought Array BioPharma (NASDAQ: ARRY) for $11.4 billion only days before. It’s the pharmaceutical giant’s biggest deal of the year thus far in announced dollar volume, and only second behind the aforementioned transaction. The terms included $48 per share in cash, with 237,500,000 shares outstanding, representing a 62% premium to ARRY’s closing price on Friday, June 13. Array BioPharma is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and... Read More »
Another Cancer Treatment Startup for Merck
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) has been busy this year. After securing a licensing deal with Cocrystal (NASDAQ: COCP) for proprietary influenza A/B antiviral agents in January, the company found two biotechnology start-ups to bolster its cancer treatment portfolio. First, in February Merck bought Immune Design for $5.85 per share in cash, for an approximate value of $300 million (135.8x trailing 12-month revenue). The target company is a late-stage immunotherapy company employing in-vivo approaches to enable the body’s immune system to fight disease. Through this acquisition, Merck gained Immune Design’s proprietary technologies, GLAAS and ZVex, which are engineered to... Read More »
Biotechnology Dominated Q1:19 Health Care Spending
Spending in the first quarter roared to nearly $150 billion, up 240% compared with the fourth quarter ($43.9 billion) and up 32% compared with the first quarter in 2018 ($113.4 billion). This quarter’s total would be halved if it weren’t for a single deal with a $74 billion price tag, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s (NYSE: BMY) acquisition of Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG). Two other deals added to the outsized total, Danaher Corporation’s (NYSE: DHR) $21.4 billion acquisition of GE Healthcare’s (NYSE: GE) Biopharma business and Centene Corporation’s (NYSE: CNC) $17.4 billion buyout of smaller health insurance rival WellCare Health Plans (NYSE: WCG). Those three deals made up 76% of the... Read More »
