People familiar with the matter told the publication that Merck and Allergan have each sounded out Biogen on a possible takeover. But they added that communications were informal and preliminary, and a deal may not come to fruition — partly because Biogen may not be interested.
Merck and Allergan may be looking at taking over Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen for various reasons. For instance, The Wall Street Journal notes that Biogen shares have dropped from a high of nearly $500 they touched early in 2015, amid worries about its prospective growth. And the decline in Biogen stock may incentivize prospective suitors who also may see the company as vulnerable to a takeover because it is in flux, the report states. Biogen is searching for a new CEO and spinning off its hemophilia-drugs unit.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Biogen’s research in Alzheimer’s disease and strength in multiple sclerosis would also make it attractive to Merck and Allergan.
Biogen had a market value of $68 billion Tuesday afternoon.
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