Biogen Idec Shares Push Upward on Down Day for Market: More Grist for the Takeover Mill

An after-market-hours report by the Financial Times‘ dealReporter yesterday evening on the bidding for Biogen Idec appears to have put wind in the firm’s stock today—as shares surged more than six points to $77.45 before settling down on another off day for Wall Street to close up $3.86 (nearly 5.5 percent) at $74.99.

Yesterday’s dealReporter seemed to rekindle the takeover rumor fires, asserting that “first round bids for Biogen Idec are due next week, with a list of front-runners likely to include Pfizer, Merck and Johnson & Johnson among other large pharmaceutical buyers…”

The article quoted unnamed sources as saying that Pfizer might have kicked things off a while back with an offer below the $80 per share price that has been floated as a likely target price. That, it said, was followed by Carl Icahn’s widely reported $23 billion bid, which dealReporter painted as a counter to the Pfizer offer. (That Icahn might have countered a Pfizer bid is something we had not heard before). The FT report also said that UK-based AstraZeneca could also be a bidder for Biogen Idec.

We contacted a Biogen Idec spokesperson, who said the company has not made any announcement about a timetable or deadline for bids. The FT account said that neither Icahn nor Pfizer would comment. So, what we have is a lot of speculation…and a higher Biogen Idec stock price. But as we’ve reported before, it will likely be months before the dust settles on any Biogen deal, if one ever materializes. In the meantime, look for a lot more rumors. Some of them might even be true.

Author: Robert Buderi

Bob is Xconomy's founder and chairman. He is one of the country's foremost journalists covering business and technology. As a noted author and magazine editor, he is a sought-after commentator on innovation and global competitiveness. Before taking his most recent position as a research fellow in MIT's Center for International Studies, Bob served as Editor in Chief of MIT's Technology Review, then a 10-times-a-year publication with a circulation of 315,000. Bob led the magazine to numerous editorial and design awards and oversaw its expansion into three foreign editions, electronic newsletters, and highly successful conferences. As BusinessWeek's technology editor, he shared in the 1992 National Magazine Award for The Quality Imperative. Bob is the author of four books about technology and innovation. Naval Innovation for the 21st Century (2013) is a post-Cold War account of the Office of Naval Research. Guanxi (2006) focuses on Microsoft's Beijing research lab as a metaphor for global competitiveness. Engines of Tomorrow (2000) describes the evolution of corporate research. The Invention That Changed the World (1996) covered a secret lab at MIT during WWII. Bob served on the Council on Competitiveness-sponsored National Innovation Initiative and is an advisor to the Draper Prize Nominating Committee. He has been a regular guest of CNBC's Strategy Session and has spoken about innovation at many venues, including the Business Council, Amazon, eBay, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.