Biogen Shares Jump on Possible Sale to Icahn

Shares of Biogen Idec surged in after hours trading Friday, after the company announced its board had authorized managers to find potential suitors for the biotech giant. A spokeswoman for the company acknowledged that activist investor Carl Icahn, who is already a shareholder, had approached the company about buying it outright, but did not say anything about the potential premium. "The rumor that the company has been in play for a long time has been confirmed by this," said Geoffrey C. Porges, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. "Icahn is saying he's at the table and he's willing to put a bid in." Icahn is well known for purchasing shares in companies he believes are undervalued and pushing management for a sale or structural changes. The Biogen spokeswoman also said that other pharmaceutical companies expressed interest, but refused to go into specifics. Shares of Biogen Idec finished Friday's session up 3.4%, and then jumped another 17.5% off the news to $81.60 in after hours trading.

Sources: Bloomberg, MarketWatch
Commentary: Biogen Idec Jumps on Icahn Interest • Is Biotech on the Verge of a Breakout?
Stocks to watch: BIIB. Competitors: GSK, PFE. ETFs: IBB, XBI
Earnings call transcript: Biogen Idec Q2 2007

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