[Clarified Oct. 1—see below] Directors of Facet Biotech (NASDAQ:[[ticker:FACT]]) have unanimously recommended that its shareholders reject Biogen Idec’s $14.50 per share takeover bid, an all cash deal worth some $355 million, the California company announced today. Biogen (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) had proposed acquiring Facet, its partner in developing an antibody drug for multiple sclerosis, in early September. After Facet’s board rejected that deal, Biogen on September 21 launched its tender offer. “The offer is substantially lower than our company’s current market value…and attributes insufficient value to the attractive pipeline and assets of the company…” Facet Biotech CEO Faheem Hasnain said in a statement. Biogen could not be reached for comment this morning. Facet shareholders have until Oct. 19 to decide whether they accept or reject the tender offer. [This article was amended to make it clear that despite its board stated rejection of the deal, Facet’s shareholders still have to vote on the tender offer.]
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.
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