Bristol-Myers completes Inhibitex tender offer
TRENTON, N.J. —Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said late Monday that it's completed its $2.5 billion acquisition of Inhibitex Inc., a drug developer that Bristol sought as part of its strategy to become a player in the hot hepatitis C drug market.
Earlier Monday, New York-based Bristol-Myers announced it had finished its tender offer for Inhibitex stock, acquiring about 91 percent of the outstanding shares, or just over 77.5 million shares, through midnight Friday. Bristol-Myers paid $26 each for those shares.
About 4.3 million remaining shares were then acquired by Bristol on Monday under a procedure in which they were converted into the right for their holders to receive $26 per share, minus any withholding taxes.
Inhibitex, based in Alpharetta, Ga., is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Bristol-Myers.
Bristol-Myers shares rose 9 cents to $31.99 during regular trading Monday, then fell a dime in after-hours trading.
Bristol-Myers is an important maker of medicines for viruses, including Baraclude for hepatitis B and several HIV drugs, but has nothing for hepatitis C at a time when more patients need treatment. Over 3 million Americans have the blood-borne, tough-to-treat disease, which can go undetected for many years until the liver is severely damaged. More people will be diagnosed as the baby boomer generation ages.
The first phase of the pilot involved researchers at the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, the world's largest sponsor of cancer treatment clinical trials, and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Phase two, now under way,