By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha
On Monday, December 9, 2019, big news emerged in the mergers & acquisitions field in terms of Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) buying ArQule, Inc. (ARQL) and Sanofi SA (SNY) buying Synthorx Inc. (THOR). Both Merck and Sanofi bought the smaller companies to enhance their capabilities in the cancer treatment space. ArQule develops various pills focused on treating different types of cancer. Synthorx specializes in synthetic DNA base pairing which will create new drug products for cancer (plus autoimmune disease as well). The market reacted positively to this news in terms of the companies being acquired. ArQule stock rose by 103.9% on Monday, December 9, 2019, while Synthorx stock rose by 170.5% on the same day.
Keywords – Merck & Co., Inc., Merck, MRK, Sanofi SA, Sanofi, SNY, ArQule, Inc., ArQule, ARQL, Synthorx Inc., Synthorx, THOR, biotechnology, biotech, pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical, pharma, healthcare, health, cancer, autoimmune disease, synthetic DNA base pairing, mergers & acquisitions, M&A, M & A.
Disclosure – The principals and clients of Ambastha Financial LLC do not have any positions in ARQL and THOR. The principals of Ambastha Financial LLC have long equity and short option positions in MRK and SNY. The clients of Ambastha Financial LLC have long equity positions in MRK and SNY, and a short option position in MRK.
Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2019 – Ambastha Financial LLC.