Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s $74bn acquisition of Celgene Corp. doesn’t necessarily portend a hectic year of biopharmaceutical M&A, according to EY Global Life Sciences Transaction Leader Peter Behner, nor does Eli Lilly & Co.’s $8bn purchase of Loxo Oncology Inc. – but weighing transformational M&A versus bolt-on deals, he predicts more of the latter.
Bristol/Celgene Made Perfect Sense, But Doesn’t Promise Big M&A Year, EY Says
The conditions that produced a sluggish biopharma M&A environment in 2018 persist, with bolt-on deals like Lilly/Loxo more likely than another mega-merger.
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