Big Pharmaceutical companies have an interest in paying large amounts for successful nonrevenue biotech. The reason for that is with a large amount paid they can justify charging large amounts for the treatment they bought. They can use the argument with insurance companies and governments that they need to return their investment on the purchased treatment developed by the acquired nonrevenue biotech (hey drug development is expensive). This will increase their profit per share and ultimately then jump the stock price, whereas the purchased price for the nonrevenue biotech sits on the asset side of the large pharmaceuticals balance sheet not impacting operational profit.
Agreed. I have speculated for years that BP may have legal ways to effectively compensate firms that, suppress the prices of these companies, using total return swaps or something similar, where everyone can plausibly deny they are doing what they are doing… and the firms get some spread.