A late-night bidding war for a Californian biotech company has taken the value of healthcare deals in the past 15 months to nearly half a trillion dollars in a fresh sign that sky-high valuations have not slowed the pace of pharmaceuticals dealmaking.
AbbVie won the three-way fight over Pharmacyclics, a biotech company that makes a single cancer drug, with a $21bn offer that hinged on the opening of three envelopes, according to a person involved in the final discussions.
Johnson & Johnson was confident earlier in the evening that its offer would prevail but was beaten in one of the most competitive bidding wars for years. AbbVie yesterday unveiled the details of its $261.25-a-share purchase of Pharmacyclics, having at the eleventh hour seized victory from Johnson & Johnson and a third unidentified bidder.