Eli Lilly is the unnamed “large pharma company” that activist investor and ImClone chairman, Carl Icahn, said is prepared to acquire the company for about $70-per-share. Lilly is in advanced talks to acquire ImClone for approximately $6.1 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The formal bid by Lilly could cause Bristol-Meyers Squibb to increase its unsolicited offer of $62-per-share. Bristol already owns about 17 percent of the company. Last week, Icahn had called Bristol’s offer as “absurd,” saying that the bid was grossly undervalued.
Like other drug makers, Lilly is having some difficulty with its drug development pipeline, according to WSJ. Friday, the Food and Drug Administration delayed a decision to approve Lilly’s potentially breakthrough new heart drug. The FDA has delayed the decision twice as it continues to look into the safety of the heart drug as well as Lilly’s diabetes drug, Byetta.