For me, comments on this board about a buyout show backwards thinking.
The only and the obvious reason Ariad would consider a buyout is cash. They don't have enough to run the trials that need to be run.
For Ariad the cash problem can be fatal. But, for a buyer, it is just a $200 million dollar addition to their investment. Like needing to add a bathroom to a house you are buying. The buyer of Ariad is buying an approved drug with numerous possible applications; a second drug that may be bic; a third drug that is ready; a terrific lab to generate more pipeline; a huge lease on prime space in Cambridge; other deals -- Medinol, Bellicum, argent kits etc.
Of course if there were only one buyer in the market and that buyer understood Ariad's desperation, the company could be had for $12-15. But if there is a larger market and competition for Ariad, the price would meet and perhaps exceed its long term value.
Enter Dr. Denner. He understands the science and can preach its long-term value to big pharmas and that is what he is doing right now.
So don't look from the perspective of a small biotech desperate for cash. Take the perspective of a wealthy pharma desperate for product.
