Glaxo Goes Direct To HGS Shareholders With Hostile Offer

GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) said Wednesday it's taking its hostile $2.6 billion takeover offer for Human Genome Sciences Inc (HGSI) direct to the U.S. biotech's shareholders, by launching a tender offer at $13 a share this week.

HGS, a U.S. pioneer of gene-based drug discovery that sells a new drug for lupus with Glaxo, has so far rejected the offer made last month, pointing out that its shares traded at $30 a year ago. The target company has started a strategic review which it hopes will encourage rival bids.

But the likelihood of a rival offer is limited, given that three of HGS's major drugs are joint ventures with the U.K.'s largest drug maker.

Glaxo co-markets lupus drug Benlysta with HGS. The biotech also has financial interests in other experimental drugs under development at Glaxo, including darapladib for cardiovascular disease and once-weekly diabetes drug albiglutide.

Glaxo Wednesday said it won't take part in HGS's strategic review, as it believes it is HGS's only realistic partner.

"We are the compelling owner for this business [HGS] as we have the rights to and control of the company's three main assets including the only one so far launched, Benlysta," GSK Chief Executive Andrew Witty told journalists last month, adding: "We believe this is the right time to maximize value for both sets of shareholders."

Glaxo will now formally launch its $13 per share tender offer for HGS this week. The offer would remain open for 20 days.

It said in a statement it "believes that the four weeks that have passed since the offer made on April 11th, together with the additional 20 business days that GSK's tender offer must remain open following its commencement, provides a reasonable amount of time for HGS to complete its review of alternatives."

With 198.5 million shares in issue, Glaxo's offer price bid would value HGS at around $2.6 billion. At 0822 GMT, Glaxo shares were flat at 1406 pence, giving the company a market value of about GBP71.8 billion.

-By Sten Stovall, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]