NPS Pharmaceuticals (NPSP)

[ThatBobGuy]

Would be nice to hear something.

This is from Bloomberg all the way back on June 5th...


With drugmakers pursuing deals like never before, Shire Plc (SHP)’s best defense against becoming a target may be to go on the hunt itself.

Reports last week that Shire is weighing a bid for NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NPSP) have pushed that company’s shares up 20 percent. While NPS said it hasn’t held talks with Shire about a deal, Piper Jaffray Cos. said Shire needs to make purchases if it wants to keep from being gobbled up amid the record $139 billion in pharmaceutical deals that were announced so far this quarter. Dublin-based Shire has been speculated as a takeover candidate because of the $35 billion company’s Irish tax base and focus on fast-growing rare-disease treatments.

“If they want to stay independent, then going on a bit of a shopping spree makes it harder for another entity to go after them,” David Amsellem, a New York-based analyst at Piper Jaffray said in a phone interview. “They will be approached. They probably have been approached.”

NPS, a $3.5 billion maker of medicines for short-bowel syndrome and hypoparathyroidism, would be a logical acquisition candidate for Shire because it would bolster the company’s portfolio of rare-disease drugs, according to Wedbush Inc. Other possible targets for Shire, which has increased its dealmaking the last two years, may include muscular dystrophy drug developers Prosensa Holding NV (RNA) and Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (SRPT), said Cenkos Securities Plc.

Jessica Mann, a representative for Shire, said the company doesn’t comment on M&A speculation.

Well, Now what???