Biotechnology firm Biogen Idec Inc said on Friday it was exploring a possible sale of the company and has already interest from billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who has recently bought up company shares.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based maker of drugs to treat conditions including multiple sclerosis and arthritis said its board had authorized management to explore a possible sale, although it cautioned that there was no assurance a deal would occur.
The company's market capital is just shy of US$20 billion.
STRATEGIC INTEREST
The company issued a statement saying its current business strategy "is working and generating strong operating and financial performance ... Nevertheless, to determine whether potential strategic interest on the part of major pharmaceutical companies might result in superior value in the current environment, the board has authorized management to explore interest in a transaction with Biogen Idec."
Biogen Idec said it has received "expressions of interest, including one from investor Carl Icahn."
The company said it would not disclose further information until its evaluation was complete.
CLEARED
In August, federal antitrust regulators cleared Icahn to buy a stake in Biogen Idec.
Earlier in the month, Icahn reported purchasing 2.7 million shares of the company as of June 30.
Biogen Idec retained Goldman Sachs & Co and Merrill Lynch & Co to assist in the review of a possible sale.
The company, founded in 1978, is due to report third-quarter earnings on Oct. 23.
In July, the company said it swung to a second-quarter profit on strong sales of two key drugs, the MS drug Avonex and Rituxan, approved for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis.
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
A move by US President Donald Trump to slap a 25 percent tariff on all steel imports is expected to place Taiwan-made steel, which already has a 25 percent tariff, on an equal footing, the Taiwan Steel & Iron Industries Association said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, association chairman Hwang Chien-chih (黃建智) said such an equal footing is expected to boost Taiwan’s competitive edge against other countries in the US market, describing the tariffs as "positive" for Taiwanese steel exporters. On Monday, Trump signed two executive orders imposing the new metal tariffs on imported steel and aluminum with no exceptions and exemptions, effective