In an unexpected move, the Denmark-based pharmaceutical leader has presented a stunning nine billion dollar acquisition proposal for the US biotech company, a specialist in obesity treatments, possibly overturning an existing takeover proposal from Pfizer.
Takeover Battle Heats Up
This fresh offer comes just a short time after Metsera had accepted a seven point three billion dollar buyout from the US group. Novo Nordisk, which owns the blockbuster weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic, had earlier failed in a competitive bidding round in September.
Pfizer criticized the unexpected bid, claiming Novo Nordisk of making a “reckless” bid and declaring it was “an attempt by a firm with a leading industry standing to stifle rivalry in breach of antitrust regulations by taking over an up-and-coming US challenger”.
The US group now has a mere 4 working days to sweeten its existing offer for the US biotech firm, which listed on the stock market recently.
Metsera's Attraction Is a Prime Acquisition Candidate
The company is regarded as a attractive takeover target partly because of its robust portfolio of obesity drugs. The firm has 4 ongoing clinical trials, comprising a oral medication, a monthly injection, and two medications that enhance feelings of fullness using the peptide amylin. Some experts suggest this hormone could reduce the type of muscle wasting that has been a concern with current medications.
Proposal Terms
- Novo Nordisk has proposed fifty-six dollars and fifty cents a share for the target, putting a value on the firm at around $6.5bn.
- It included a extra twenty-one dollars and twenty-five cents a share, worth approximately $2.5 billion, if Metsera achieves certain clinical and regulatory goals.
The Danish firm commented in a release that the takeover “represents in line with Novo Nordisk’s long-term strategy of developing advanced and unique medicines and serving millions more people affected by obesity and diabetes and their associated health conditions”.
Company Reaction
The biotech firm declared that Novo Nordisk’s proposal was “more favorable” to the current bid from the US group, which had proposed forty-seven dollars and fifty cents per share, and a additional $22.50 for achieving additional targets.
Rival's Rebuttal
Yet the US pharmaceutical company said the European firm’s bid was designed in a way that was meant to “avoid competition regulations” and “carries substantial regulatory and executional challenge”. It also dismissed the suggestion that the bid was superior to its own, calling it “illusory”. Pfizer stated it was “ready to pursue all legal options to protect its interests under its contract”.
Broader Landscape
The Danish drugmaker has been facing a slowing pace of profit growth and a fall in its stock value, particularly after losing ground to its US rival Eli Lilly, which manufactures the Zepbound and Mounjaro injections. Research trials have indicated that the rival drug is better in causing weight loss than Wegovy.
Eli Lilly boosted its own guidance on recently, as Q3 income from its weight-loss and diabetes drugs beat predictions. The company announced it was still planning to submit its proprietary weight-loss pill to regulators by the year's end.
