Novartis tipped to move for Serono
Novartis has axed its plans to make an offer for Berna Biotech, fuelling rumours that it is planning a bid for Serono.
Novartis has axed its plans to make an offer for Berna Biotech, fuelling rumours that it is planning a bid for Serono.
Novartis, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, announced on 18 December 2005 that it was weighing up the pros and cons of acquiring Berna, headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, looking particularly at combining its operations with those of Chiron Corporation, a US vaccines company that it is currently in the process of acquiring. It stated at the time that: 'The combination of Berna and Chiron would offer complementary geographic coverage and product ranges. Novartis would also gain access to the attractive proprietary technology platforms of Berna.'
The only competition it is understood to have faced was from Crucell, a Dutch biotechnology company, who made an offer on 15 December to acquire Berna through an all-share exchange offer. Following a general meeting of Berna on 11 January, Crucell's offer, thought to be worth around $450m, was approved.
Any move the company may now make for Geneva-based biotechnology Serono is expected to face competition from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), London, UK.
Serono, which is reported to have a market value of $13bn, hired Goldman Sachs in November 2005 'to explore various strategic alternatives for the Company'. Its multiple-sclerosis treatment Rebif, which accounts for around half of its sales, could be an attraction for Novartis and GSK, both of whom are cuurently developing new oral multiple-sclerosis drugs.
Shares in Serono have risen by 28% since November amid rumours of a sale, hitting three-year-highs of CHF1,103 after Novartis' announcement concerning Berna.
Novartis, which spent around $14bn on acquisitions in 2005, GSK and Serono have all declined to comment, although a GSK spokesman did say that the company 'is currently focused on organic growth and its drugs pipeline'.
If a deal for Serono does go through it would be likely to mark the biggest pharmaceutical transaction since Sanofi-Synthelabo bought Aventis in 2004 for $72.7bn to form sanofi-aventis, another company touted as a possible bidder for Serono, along with Pfizer.