Merck & Co buying Rosetta for $620 mill; rumors of a $91 bill bid for S-P

US pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co, which has eschewed the merger andacquisition merry-go-round over the past few years, has entered the fray after signing a definitive agreement to acquire Rosetta Inpharmatics. Under the terms of the deal, each Rosetta share will be converted into 0.2352 shares of Merck stock, valuing the transaction at approximately $620 million, or $18 per share.

Anthony Ford-Hutchinson, executive vice president, worldwide basic research at Merck Research Laboratories, said that the acquisition of Rosetta fits the firm's objective "of expanding our lead in cutting-edge science by continuing to enhance our internal research capabilities, particularly in the area of genomics." He went on to say that the availability of the human genome sequence "is just the first step in a long process of identifying gene products and their functions, adding that "Rosetta will be a tremendous asset" in helping to more efficiently analyze gene data "and intelligently select drug targets."

Rosetta will operate as an independent unit within MRL, and its current chief executive, Stephen Friend, said that joining Merck "allows us to move into our next stage of development, which is beyond providing tools and software and into direct involvement with drug discovery." Dr Friend will become vice president, basic research, at MRL once the deal is concluded, which is expected in the third quarter of this year. Merck will keep Rosetta's existing facilities in Kirkland and Bothell, Washington.