Sanofi Offers To Buy Medivation For About $9.3 Bln In Cash

(RTTNews) - French drug maker Sanofi (SNYNF, SNY) said that it has made non-binding proposal to acquire San Francisco-based biopharmaceutical company Medivation inc.(MDVN) for $52.50 per share, which would represent an all-cash transaction valued at about $9.3 billion.

The proposed purchase price represents a premium of over 50 percent to Medivation's two-month volume weighted average price prior to there being takeover rumors.

"Last November, Sanofi outlined our mid-term strategy which includes rebuilding our position in oncology, one of the largest and fastest growing therapeutic areas in the biopharmaceutical sector. With Medivation's best-in-class offerings in prostate cancer, we believe a combination would benefit patients and, at the same time, generate value for shareholders of both companies," said Sanofi Chief Executive Officer Olivier Brandicourt.

Sanofi noted that the proposed combination has an attractive financial rationale as it would be immediately accretive to earnings and would offer value creation opportunities for Sanofi shareholders.

There can be no assurance that any transaction will result from this proposal, Sanofi said.

Sanofi said it is confident in its ability to close the proposed transaction and receive all necessary regulatory approvals. The transaction would not be contingent on any financing condition.

Sanofi Chief Executive Officer Olivier Brandicourt said, in a letter to David Hung Chief Executive Officer of Medivation, "During our first call on March 25, you said that you were unwilling to meet, and in our subsequent conversation on April 3 you said that, after a review with your Board, there was no interest in discussing a transaction. Given your unwillingness to meet or to hear our proposal, we sent you a letter on Friday, April 15, setting forth a proposal to acquire Medivation for $52.50 per share in cash, representing a premium of over 50% to the two-month volume weighted average trading price prior to there being takeover rumors. We have not heard anything from you for almost two weeks, other than an acknowledgment of receipt of our letter."

"We do not understand the delay in responding to our letter.....We are prepared to meet promptly so we can mutually work towards a transaction that benefits our respective stockholders," Brandicourt said.