J.Leek schreef op 23 mei 2015 15:24:
Wel oud nieuws, maar zo wordt er gedacht in Amerika door een deskundige, voor de beursgang.
May 7, 2015 | By Nick Paul Taylor
Galapagos (AMS:GLPG) has increased the amount it hopes to raise in its upcoming Nasdaq IPO to $230 million (€203 million) after AbbVie ($ABBV) placed a provisional order for a $30 million stake. The order adds a subplot to the ongoing speculation about whether AbbVie will take up its $200 million option to buy into Galapagos' rheumatoid arthritis program or acquire the company outright.
Mechelen, Belgium-based Galapagos was targeting a haul of $150 million when it filed the papers for a Nasdaq IPO last month but since then its standing has been buoyed by positive news. The rheumatoid arthritis drug filgotinib--a JAK1 inhibitor--aced a second Phase IIb trial, raising expectations that AbbVie will exercise its $200 million option to buy into the program after it gets a look at the 24-week data. Galapagos' share price in Europe hit new highs in the wake of the data, putting it in a position to dial up expectations for its Nasdaq listing.
AbbVie sees value in Galapagos at the newly inflated price and has expressed an interest in buying $30 million worth of shares when the Belgian biotech goes public. The big question is whether the interest in acquiring a stake in Galapagos will evolve into a takeover bid. Speculation has swirled around Galapagos since it posted the filgotinib data. AbbVie is near the top of a short list of potential suitors, which also includes Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ). J&J already holds a 7.6% stake in Galapagos and--like AbbVie--is nearing the loss of patent protection on rheumatoid arthritis drug.