Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

It’s silly that HALO was +21% today on news that BAX acquired a totally unrelated private company.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNN0124789420100301

›Baxter to Buy Biologics Maker for Up To $330M

12:43pm EST

CHICAGO, March 1 (Reuters) - Baxter International Inc <BAX.N> said on Monday it would pay up to $330 million to acquire Britain-based ApaTech, a privately held maker of biologics products used in orthopedic and dental surgeries.

The agreement includes an upfront cash payment by Baxter of $240 million, plus potential payments of up to $90 million should the company achieve sales milestones. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter.

ApaTech, with sales of about $60 million in 2009, makes Actifuse, a synthetic bone graft material sold in the United States and Europe.

Baxter said the transaction, intended to bolster its position in the fast-growing orthobiologics sector, is not expected to have a material impact on its 2010 financial results.

David Lewis, an analyst with Morgan Stanley, said he expects Baxter to supplement growth through more acquisitions rather than continuing to use cash to repurchase shares.

Shares of Halozyme Therapeutics Inc <HALO.O>, a biopharmaceutical company that is partners with Roche <ROG.VX> and Baxter on biologics products, jumped 14 percent as investors speculated Halozyme also could become a takeover target.

"People probably are thinking that because Baxter has acquired another company this morning, they may also acquire other companies that they have partnerships with," Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Gregory Wade said.

ApaTech shareholders include Encore Ventures, Healthcor Partners and MTI. Encore Ventures, ApaTech's largest shareholder, is a division of European venture capital firm DFJ Esprit.‹