Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis in merger talks?
The New York times is reporting that Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis may be in merger talks!! If this happened, it would make the new company the second largest pharmaceutical company behind Pfizer
Rumors Fly About Bristol, Lifting Stock - New York Times:
My take is that if both companies are vehemently denying it then there are good chances it is true. Then again, it could be rumors started by folks taking advantage of the market to make money in the stock. Both companies have had a lot of activity and BMS is actually up on the possibility. Also news that some top management at BMS have announced agreements that would allow them to walk away with significant compensation if certain triggers happen including demotions, transfers or cuts in pay. While these are sometimes put in place to keep managers who would otherwise leave during times of turmoil, they are also often put into place just before major mergers.
The market has been anticipating some sort of merger or take-over of BMS since they have failed to name a new CEO and only have an interim one. I don’t like to speculate but it does seem likely given all the indications. Also, remember that Sanofi and BMS have a partnership on Plavix which may be seeing generic competition soon. All of these point towards a merger in my opinion. I don’t believe it will necessarily be for the best in the long run but it is hard to convince those involved that that may be the case. They have too much to gain by pushing such mergers to completion.
Technorati Tags: Bristol-Myers Squibb, pharma M&A, pharmaceutical deals, Sanofi-Aventis
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