Holocene Advisors says Merck's offer undervalues Acceleron
Reuters
Published Oct 13, 2021 04:09PM ET
Updated Oct 13, 2021 05:41PM ET
(Reuters) -Investment management firm Holocene Advisors said it will not back Merck & Co's offer to buy Acceleron Pharma (NASDAQ:XLRN) Inc for $180 per share, saying it significantly undervalues the drugmaker.
Avoro Capital, which owns 7% of Acceleron stock, had also shared that view on Merck's $11.5 billion bid for the company.
"A transaction now, at this price, is not compelling ... (the offer) does not compensate XLRN shareholders adequately, given Acceleron's strong pipeline and attractive long-term business prospects," Holocene said in a statement on Wednesday.
The deal would give Merck access to Acceleron's rare disease drug candidate, sotatercept, which the company expects could bring in billions of dollars in sales.
Merck did not respond to requests for comment.
Acceleron, meanwhile, said on Wednesday it fully supported the offer and there had been no further negotiation after it was accepted.
"We are currently on track to achieve more than 50% shares being tendered as part of this tender period," said Todd James, Acceleron senior vice president, corporate affairs and investor relations, on a call with Reuters, noting that just over half of outstanding shares need to be tendered for deals to close.
Merck began its tender offer to buy Acceleron shares on Tuesday.
Holocene owned 1.42% of Acceleron's traded shares as of June 30, and is among the top 20 investors in the company, according to data from Refinitiv.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.