Shares of Renovo spiked this morning on news that the developer had received an unsolicited inquiry from an unnamed suitor.
A company spokesperson says there's no guarantee that Renovo will be the target of a takeover bid, but investors weren't waiting for the next headline. Renovo's stock jumped 14 percent this morning.
The UK developer is in a development pact with Shire to advance a scar reduction treatment. If it works as planned, Renovo would garner $825 million from Shire. But analysts swiftly speculated that barring an offer from Shire, the mystery suitor might be even more interested in Renovo's bank account. The developer has £74 million in reserves, making it a tempting target for any biopharma company in need of cash. And there's no shortage of European biotech companies that fit that bill.
"There are lots of companies worldwide without much money. I expect it is a company of a similar size or smaller and wants to do a thinly-veiled fundraising by getting hold of their cash," Andy Smith of Axa Framlington tells Dow Jones.
- read the report in the Wall Street Journal