PARIS (Reuters) – French health group Sanofi said on Friday that if it decided to bid for biotech company Horizon Therapeutics Plc, it would do so in cash.
“Any offer for Horizon Therapeutics Plc, if made, would be in cash, as required by Rule 2.12 of the Takeover Rules,” Sanofi said in a statement.
“There is no certainty that any offer will be made, nor as to terms on which any such offer may be made, if forthcoming,” it added.
Horizon Therapeutics Plc, which has a market capitalization of about $18 billion, is in talks with Amgen Inc, Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson unit Janssen Global Services over potential takeover offers.
Horizon, which makes drugs for rare, autoimmune and severe inflammatory diseases, however, has said there can be no certainty that any offer will be made.
Sanofi has made several large-scale takeover deals in recent years, and earlier this year it completed the buyout of immuno-oncology company Amunix Pharmaceuticals for around $1 billion.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
