Mar 7, 2019

The bidding war for Spark Therapeutics

Bob Herman

Roche bought Spark for almost $5 billion. Photo courtesy of Spark Therapeutics

A new financial filing from Spark Therapeutics reveals that Roche low-balled its first offer to buy Spark for $70 a share, and then outbid three other pharmaceutical companies over several months before Spark agreed to Roche's offer of $114.50 per share — 64% higher than the original that resulted in the nearly $5 billion deal.

Between the lines: Spark's work centers around gene therapy, where mutated genes are replaced with new ones, and the filing shows its hemophilia research was the crown jewel that had everyone interested.

Go deeper

Axios

Situational awareness

Photo: Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

Catch up on today's biggest news:

  1. Mike Bloomberg offers to release women from 3 NDAs
  2. Wells Fargo to pay $3 billion to settle consumer abuse charges
  3. Bloomberg campaign says Tennessee vandalism "echoes language" from Bernie supporters
  4. Scoop: New White House personnel chief tells Cabinet liaisons to target Never Trumpers
  5. Nearly half of Republicans support pardoning Roger Stone
Keep ReadingArrowUpdated 42 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Orion Rummler

Wells Fargo agrees to pay $3 billion to settle consumer abuse charges

Clients use an ATM at a Wells Fargo Bank in Los Angeles, Calif. Photo: Ronen Tivony/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Wells Fargo agreed to a pay a combined $3 billion to the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday for opening millions of fake customer accounts between 2002 and 2016, the SEC said in a press release.

The big picture: The fine "is among the largest corporate penalties reached during the Trump administration," the Washington Post reports.

Go deeperArrow45 mins ago - Economy & Business
Fadel Allassan

Bloomberg offers to release women from 3 nondisclosure agreements

Mike Bloomberg. Photo: Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

Mike Bloomberg said Friday his company will release women identified to have signed three nondisclosure agreements so they can publicly discuss their allegations against him if they wish.

Why it matters, via Axios' Margaret Talev: Bloomberg’s shift in policy toward NDAs comes as he tries to stanch his loss of female support after the Las Vegas debate. It is an effort to separate the total number of harassment and culture complaints at the large company from those directed at him personally. That could reframe the criticism against him, but also protect the company from legal fallout if all past NDAs were placed in jeopardy.

Go deeperArrow52 mins ago - Politics & Policy