US drug giants seal £71bn takeover

AMERICAN drug maker BristolMyers Squibb has agreed to buy rival Celgene for £71bn in the biggest healthcare deal ever.

The tie-up will bring the eighth and ninth largest US drugs firms together to create the fourth-biggest pharma group in the country.

Together they have nine drugs that each generate sales of more than £793m a year including several blockbuster cancer treatments. There is also a large pipeline of treatments currently being developed.

Both companies’ boards have approved the deal, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter, provided shareholders and regulators give it the green light.

The deal will be paid with a mix of cash and shares.

Talks for the deal started in September, with Bristol-Myers approaching Celgene, according to a source.

Giovanni Caforio, the chairman and chief executive of Bristol-Myers Squibb, said: ‘Together with Celgene, we are creating an innovative biopharma leader, with leading franchises and a deep and broad pipeline that will drive sustainable growth and deliver new options for patients across a range of serious diseases.’

The takeover is the latest in a string of mergers and acquisitions in the global sector in the last few years.

In 2018, Japanese pharma giant Takeda agreed to buy British group Shire for £46bn.

And last month Glaxosmithkline said it would buy Tesaro, a US biotech firm that focuses on cancer treatments, for £4bn.

Bristol-Myers Squibb shares fell yesterday while Celgene shares rose after the deal was announced.