Who will win the ImClone battle?

by Anne Law, September 30th, 2008, 12:01 pm

ImClone is working towards what could be a dramatic climax to the battle over who will win its favors. The company has let it be known that it has a mystery suitor that could pay more than $6 billion to acquire ImClone and that the name of the silent bidder will be revealed later this week.

There’s still a distinct possibility that initial suitor Bristol-Myers Squibb, which already owns a minority stake in ImClone, could take home the cake, but thus far ImClone has turned its nose up at BMS’ overtures, including its latest $5.4 billion takeover offer. BMS could either up its offer before the deadline or wait to see if the second bidder’s proposal falls through.

ImClone has stated that the interested party’s identity will be revealed by the end of the day Wednesday when it either issues an official proposal or withdraws its interest. Rumored suitors have included pharma giants Eli Lilly and Pfizer, which has coincidentally said this week that it will focus its early stage R&D programs on high growth areas including cancer (ImClone’s area of expertise). The playing field for acquisitive drugmakers is wide as many companies are scrambling to secure their future success in a highly competitive industry.

For the moment, the future of ImClone, laden with a historical reputation of Martha Stewart and Carl Icahn stature, remains up in the air. Whether the company comes out with a smashing success story or a disappointing bust of a deal is yet to be seen.