Bristol to get $1B in ImClone deal

Tracy Staton — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:13:50 -0400

Carl Icahn may have won the ImClone war, but Bristol-Myers Squibb counts itself among the victors, too. Though Bristol won't get control of ImClone, it will rake in about $1 billion in cash for its 17 percent stake when Eli Lilly forks over the $70 a share buyout price. And Bristol still boasts a share of the cancer drug Erbitux; it will just work with Eli Lilly on marketing the drug. (Ironically, working with Lilly won't be unfamiliar to Bristol CEO Jim Cornelius, because he spent years at the company.)

In fact, Bristol's statement in response to losing ImClone to Eli Lilly was quite upbeat, full of phrases like "pleased," "proud" and "looking ahead." Bristol even seemed to take a share of the credit for bringing ImClone and Lilly together; after all, if BMS hadn't decided to try to buy ImClone, the company might not have been in play.

Bristol's teeth didn't show until the statement's final phrase: "to which Bristol-Myers Squibb holds long-term marketing rights." Those words referred to ImClone's experimental compound IMC-11F8, a potential follow-up/competitor to Erbitux. ImClone appears to dispute those rights; Bristol, not surprisingly, stolidly stands behind its claim. Lilly CEO John Lechleiter (photo) was noncommittal: "We feel good where we are" with the experimental med, he said during a conference call about the deal. And he promised that Lilly and Bristol would hash over the subject soon.

- read Bristol's release
- see the post at the Wall Street Journal Health Blog
- check out the Forbes article

Rumor mill: BMS positioning itself for sale

Tracy Staton — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:28:15 -0400

Speculation that Bristol-Myers Squibb might be a takeover target--that's old news. Informed speculation based on certain strategic moves BMS has made recently--now that's worth passing on. Tim Anderson, the Sanford Bernstein analyst, says he believes Bristol-Myers is actively entertaining the idea of selling itself. In a recent note to investors, Anderson ticked off his evidence. Two key patents expire in 2012, for Avapro and Plavix, and the same year, BMS loses U.S. rights to Abilify. But its pipeline is promising, and it has the second-smallest market cap among big drugmakers.

Additionally, Anderson notes, CEO Jim Cornelius recently bought 100,000 shares; is this a "calculated bet on the future of the company?" Its new CFO is an ex-Goldman Sachs investment banker. And the company recently announced plans to partially spin off its Mead Johnson nutritionals unit, which establishes fair value for that business in case any potential buyer wanted to keep or sell it.

This is circumstantial evidence to be sure. But rest assured that Anderson will keep his eyes peeled for more--so we should all keep an eye on him.

- read the story at Pharmalot