Eli Lilly extends tender offer to buy Point Biopharma after low participation

(Reuters) -Eli Lilly on Friday extended the deadline for Point Biopharma Global shareholders by about two weeks to Dec. 1 to sell their stock, due to low participation.

In October, Lilly agreed to acquire Point Biopharma in an all-cash deal valued at $1.4 billion to gain access to its experimental therapies that enable precise targeting of cancer.

Lilly, which has offered to buy Point Biopharma shares at $12.50 a piece and has all regulatory approvals for the deal, said the price will remain the same during the extended period. Point’s shares, though, closed at $13.33 on Thursday.As of 1700 ET on Thursday, holders of about 28.2 million shares had agreed to sell with valid tendered stock, and this represented only 26.45% of the issued and outstanding shares of Point Biopharma, Lilly said.

The tender offer has been extended in order for the companies to satisfy the minimum tender condition.

Lilly has been bolstering its pipeline through small deals as its cancer therapy Alimta faces fierce competition from copycat versions, while betting on potential blockbuster drugs Mounjaro and recently approved obesity drug Zepbound to drive growth.