In a surprising a change of heart, US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has said it has re-entered acquisition talks with Swiss biotech firm Actelion Ltd.
J&J abruptly bowed out of the bid process for Actelion last week after the Swiss firm said that it was “engaged in discussions with another party”.
Actelion gave no details about who the third party was, but press reports at the time suggested it was French firm Sanofi SA.
Yesterday, however, J&J said that it had entered into “exclusive negotiations” to acquire the Swiss drugmaker, indicating that other potential suitors had left the process.
J&J, the world’s largest healthcare company, and Actelion said in brief, separate statements that while takeover discussions had been rekindled there was “no assurance any transaction will result.”
Actelion, Europe’s biggest biotech company with a market value of $22.5bn, could change hands for as much as $30bn, according to commentators.
The group specialises in treatments for a rare disorder known as pulmonary arterial hypertension.