Will Receive $1 Billion Upon Completion of Transaction
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced today that it will acquire
ImClone Systems (NASDAQ:IMCL) for $70 per share, or approximately $6.5
billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb currently owns approximately 16.6 percent
of all outstanding shares of ImClone. Based on Bristol-Myers Squibb’s
ownership of 14.4 million shares of ImClone, the transaction will be
worth approximately $1 billion in cash to Bristol-Myers Squibb.
“We are pleased to have initiated a process
that has resulted in the substantial increase of ImClone’s
value for all of its stockholders,” said James
M. Cornelius, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bristol-Myers
Squibb. “We are also proud to have contributed
to this creation of value by providing commercial and R&D support to the
company over the course of our relationship, which will continue now
with Eli Lilly, a well-respected research organization.
“From the beginning, we had viewed our
potential acquisition of ImClone as a strategically and financially
sound add-on to our oncology business, consolidating a successful
relationship that has extended over seven years. We felt it was in the
best interest of Bristol-Myers Squibb shareholders not to raise our
previous $62/share all cash offer, exercising discipline and evaluating
this potential investment within the context of other alternatives open
to the company.
“Looking ahead, we will work closely with Eli
Lilly and Company, a company I know well, to continue to bring to
patients not only ERBITUX®, the important
cancer therapy we co-commercialize in the U.S. and Canada with ImClone,
and co-develop in Japan with Merck KGaA and ImClone, but other
compounds, including IMC-11F8, under development by ImClone to which
Bristol-Myers Squibb holds long-term marketing rights.”
About Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission
is to extend and enhance human life.
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Communications:
Tracy Furey, 609-252-3208
Brian
Henry, 609-252-3337
or
Investor Relations:
John Elicker,
212-546-3775
