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The Battle For OGS

 
• By Hazel Dawson

Celltech's hostile bid for OGS may have scuppered the company's cosy merger plans with CAT. But OGS isn't giving in without a fight. And Celltech's offer may even prove beneficial to OGS shareholders, bumping up the firm's price-tag for CAT--or another suitor.

When Oxford GlycoSciences PLC (OGS) in January 2003 announced its proposed merger with compatriot Cambridge Antibody Technology Group PLC (CAT), it became the first European biotech to agree to an offer that valued it at less than the cash on its balance sheet. (See "CAT Merges for Money: Chooses Well-Dowered OGS," In Vivo Europe Rx, February 2003 Also see "CAT Merges for Money; Chooses Well-Dowered OGS" - In Vivo, 1 February, 2003. [See Deal].)

CAT's £110 million ($178 million) offer, about £25 million below the level of cash on OGS' balance sheet (as disclosed...

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