Eli Lilly to buy ImClone for more than $6B

Eli Lilly & Co.'s winning bid of more than $6 billion for cancer drugmaker ImClone Systems means a billion-dollar payday for former rival bidder Bristol-Myers and vindication for corporate raider and ImClone Chairman Carl Icahn. Lilly said Monday it would pay $70 per share for New York-based ImClone. The acquisition, Lilly's largest ever, helps the Indianapolis drugmaker prepare for looming patent expirations and builds "a true oncology powerhouse," Lilly CEO John Lechleiter said. The deal also brings to an end one of the more dramatic buyout sagas in recent history. Lilly's bid topped two previous offers from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., which partnered with ImClone to develop and market the blockbuster drug Erbitux. In July, New York-based Bristol offered $60 per share for the 83 percent of ImClone it doesn't already own and... [read full story]