Biotech Values

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IMCL.....

Sanofi-Aventis was unnamed ImClone bidder: NYT

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Sanofi-Aventis was the unnamed bidder for ImClone Systems Inc. in September, according to a media report Monday. Shares of ImClone (IMCL), a biotechnology company, jumped in the past week after the company revealed in documents released as part of its ongoing squabble with dissident investor Carl Icahn that it had received an attractive takeover bid from an undisclosed pharmaceutical company. See full story.

At that time, ImClone revealed that it had been approached in July by a "major international pharmaceutical company" that was interested in acquiring the biotech group in a stock deal worth $35.50 per share. The suitor raised its bid in September to $36 per share after the board rejected the prior offer as too low.

According to a New York Times story, which cites people involved in the transaction, Paris-based Sanofi-Aventis (SNY), as that unnamed bidder, may have been considering expanding in the United States.

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