Recent reports are indicating that AstraZeneca plc (NYSE:AZN) is considering joining the Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN) fray by tabling a $10 billion (£7.7 billion) bid. According to The Sunday Times reporters, AZ has been and is still interested in potentially making a move for Medivation.
AZ is among several drugmakers keen on buying Medivation, with Sanofi SA (NYSE:SNY) so far being the only one to table a bid. The French Pharma has been very interested in the American drug maker and even tried a hostile takeover last week.
It is easy to see why so many drug makers are interested in Medivation. The San Francisco Company has Xtandi, a prostate cancer pill that is already performing very well in the market. Plus, it has a high prospect in talazoparib, a PARP inhibitor that has been touted by CEO David Hung as the best-in-class.
A takeover by AZ would certainly help it to dig out of its current slump and hit the hefty sale s projection it had when it was trying to evade hostile suitor Pfizer back in 2014. According to a Credit Suisse analyst, since AZ boasts a prostate cancer fighter – Zoladex and it is investigating PARP med Lynparza, fitting Xtandi in its portfolio would seem very logical.
If the reports of AZ considering tabling a bid are true, it will not be an easy path with many rival companies thinking they have got their own fit with Medivation. Sanofi is definitely the most eager among them, but companies including Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG), and Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) being among the potential suitors.
In April, the Telegraph had reported that AZ’s CEO, Pascal Soriot, is known for avoiding bidding wars and getting into one now could spook shareholders, considering an early promise from Soriot to avoid big buyouts.
