Amgen to buy Celgene's psoriasis drug Otezla for $13.4 billion in cash

[August 26, 2019]  (Reuters) - Amgen Inc said on Monday it would buy Celgene Corp's psoriasis drug Otezla for $13.4 billion in cash, clearing the way for Bristol-Myers Squibb to go ahead with its $74 billion deal for Celgene.

Bristol-Myers now expects the Celgene deal to close by 2019 end, pushing Celgene's shares up 3% before the opening bell. Amgen shares, however, fell as some investors worried that the company was shelling out more-than-expected for the drug.

The deal for Otezla and certain related assets and liabilities is valued at $11.2 billion, net of the present value of $2.2 billion in future cash tax benefits.

Bristol-Myers in June offered to sell Otezla, with an analyst valuing a deal for the drug at about $9 billion.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams, who had earlier said that Otezla was a better fit for Gilead Sciences Inc, also pointed to the high price that Amgen was offering.

Otezla brought in sales of $1.61 billion last year. Amgen said it expected the drug's sales to grow at least in the low-double digits over the next five years.

(For an interactive on Otezla sales click here: https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com
/gfx/editorcharts/BRISTOL-MYERS-DIVESTITURE-AMGEN/0H001QERZ81T/index.html)

Bristol is also developing a treatment for psoriasis and reported positive results from a mid-stage study of its drug last year.

It increased a previously planned $5 billion accelerated share buyback to $7 billion, sending its shares up about 5%.

(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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