Where can I find moreinformation about novartis owns speedel?
July 10 (Bloomberg) — Novartis AG, the Swiss drugmaker that faced setbacks to three products last year, took a majority stake in Speedel Holding AG and offered to buy the rest in a deal valuing the company at 1.01 billion Swiss francs ($980 million). The drugmaker has offered to pay 130 francs for each remaining share, a 94 percent increase over yesterday’s close. Speedel’s board is evaluating the bid and will make a decision within the next 10 days, Speedel said in a statement. Novartis Chief Executive Officer Daniel Vasella cut jobs, replaced division heads and bought eyecare company Alcon Inc. because of drug setbacks and the threat of generic copies to its best-selling Diovan hypertension pill. The purchase will save Novartis royalty payments of as much as $700 million on Tekturna, the blood pressure medicine that the companies developed jointly, WestLB analyst Andreas Theisen said, and gives the company other experimental medicines for the disorder. “We think this deal is sound,
Switzerland’s Novartis has scooped up a majority of the shares of Speedel and plans to swiftly complete the purchase of all its stock in a deal valued at $880 million. At 130 francs per share, Novartis is paying a 94 percent premium. The two companies collaborated on the blood pressure drug Tekturna and Novartis plans to integrate Speedel’s operation with its own, saving $30 million in the process. The deal is the latest in a string of acquisitions of biotech companies by big pharma companies looking to add new therapies to their pipelines. Analysts noted that in the Tekturna deal, Novartis was likely on the hook for $700 million in royalty payments. While Speedel–a 2005 Fierce 15 company–has recently reported several development setbacks, Novartis also gains a pipeline of experimental therapies that includes new therapies for heart and metabolic diseases. Speedel has a mid-stage therapy in development for kidney disease in diabetics. Sources:
