Bristol-Myers Agrees to Acquire Inhibitex (BMY, INHX)

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY), the New York City-based biotechnology company engaged in the discovery, development, licensing, manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sale of pharmaceutical products on a global basis, today announced that it entered into a definitive agreement with Inhibitex Inc. (NASDAQ: INHX) under which it will acquire Inhibitex for $26 per share in an all cash transaction.

The transaction, which is aggregate purchase price of nearly $2.5 billion, has been approved by the Board of Directors of both, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Inhibitex.

Inhibitex is engaged in the development of innovative products that can treat or prevent serious infections. The company’s primarily focusing on the development of nucleotide/nucleoside analogs for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV). The company’s lead HCV assert is INX-189.

Lamberto Andreotti, CEO of Bristol-Myers Squibb, said that the acquisition of Inhibitex builds on the company’s long history of discovering, developing and delivering innovative new medicines in virology and enriches its portfolio of investigational medicines for hepatitis C. Andreotti further said that there is significant unmet medical need in hepatitis C and the acquisition represents an important investment in the long-term growth of the company.

Russell Plumb, President and CEO of Inhibitex, meanwhile, said that the transaction puts INX-189 and the company’s other infectious disease assets in the hands of an organization that can more optimally develop them and which believes as strongly as Inhibitex does in INX-189’s potential in the treat of chronic HCV.

As per the terms of the agreement, a cash tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares for Inhibitex common stock of $26 per share will be commenced by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Bristol-Myers Squibb will fund the acquisition with its existing cash resources. The company expects the transaction to be dilutive to earnings through 2016, with an anticipated impact on earnings per share of around $0.04 in 2012 and around $0.05 in 2013.

Bristol-Myers Squibb shares are down 0.35% to $34.10 in pre-market trading today. Inhibitex shares, meanwhile, are up 146% to $24.28 in pre-market trading.

More Posts by this author

• 
  Stocks Headed for a Strong Finish
• 
  Gold and Silver Prices Continue to Climb in Mid-Day Trading
• 
  Stocks Remain in Green in Mid-Day Trading
• 
  BJ’s Restaurants – Continued top-line sales momentum
• 
  hhgregg, Inc. – Pleased with our third fiscal quarter performance
• 
  Dana Holding Corporation – Estimated financial results for 2011
• 
  Zale Corporation – Announces Holiday Sales

Post Written By: Ed Liston Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.