Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Serono up on takeover talk - market report; GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca tipped, Novartis ruled out
Story: Serono, the Swiss biotechnology company, saw its shares soar 12% to CHF 968 (EUR 627) on the back of takeover talk, according to a Tagesanzeiger market report.
Serono yesterday (Tuesday) issued a statement confirming press reports that it has retained Goldman Sachs to evaluate potential buyers.
A report yesterday on this news service cited a source following the situation who said that both GlaxoSmithkline and AstraZeneca were looking at possibly tabling bids, although others still question the strategic imperative behind doing so.
Yesterday's report added that other potential bidders for Serono include Pfizer, Novartis, Amgen, Abbott Laboratories, Wyeth and Johnson & Johnson, although a source familiar with Novartis had ruled the company out from bidding.
Serono has a market cap of USD 10.936bn (EUR 9.292bn).
Source: Tagesanzeiger, mergermarket
Value: EUR 9,292m (Market cap)
Serono yesterday (Tuesday) issued a statement confirming press reports that it has retained Goldman Sachs to evaluate potential buyers.
A report yesterday on this news service cited a source following the situation who said that both GlaxoSmithkline and AstraZeneca were looking at possibly tabling bids, although others still question the strategic imperative behind doing so.
Yesterday's report added that other potential bidders for Serono include Pfizer, Novartis, Amgen, Abbott Laboratories, Wyeth and Johnson & Johnson, although a source familiar with Novartis had ruled the company out from bidding.
Serono has a market cap of USD 10.936bn (EUR 9.292bn).
Source: Tagesanzeiger, mergermarket
Value: EUR 9,292m (Market cap)
