Shares in Novo Nordisk, maker of popular obesity drugs Wegovy and Ozempic, rose 2.4% in Copenhagen trading after it pulled out of the race to buy U.S. healthcare startup Metsera.

Novo lost the fight to pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, which will pay $65.6 per share of Metsera in cash and up to $20.65 per share if certain milestones are met. In total, the deal could be worth more than $10 billion, Barron's estimated. Novo's last offer was $62.2 per share.

The market reaction shows that Novo investors were relieved, Barron's explains. Investors welcomed the fact that the Danish manufacturer did not respond to Pfizer's latest bid, which looks overvalued given that Metsera's drugs are still largely unproven in terms of efficacy, the publication notes. Novo said in a statement that the company would not increase its offer, guided by the principles of financial discipline and protection of shareholders' interests.

Quotes of Metsera at the trading on November 10 collapsed by 15%. Since the initial public offering of the company's shares in January and until the close of trading on Friday, their price has increased more than four times. Shares of Pfizer rose on November 10 by 1.4%.

What's next?

Sources told Bloomberg that Novo will continue to look for deal opportunities in obesity, diabetes and related diseases. The company viewed Metsera as a potential "complement" to the business rather than a transformational acquisition, the agency's sources said.

Novo, which made an offer to buy Metsera in October, was trying to keep up with rival Eli Lilly and shore up its sagging share price, while Pfizer was looking for a viable way to enter the booming market for obesity drugs after several failed attempts in that area, Bloomberg said.

BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Saigerman estimates that despite the slowdown in sales growth, Novo still has about $53 billion to spend on new deals. In the near future, the analyst noted, investors' attention will be focused on the results of trials of the Alzheimer's disease drug, the shareholders' meeting on Friday, where a new board of directors is to be elected, as well as the launch of a tablet version of Wegovy, Bloomberg writes.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor

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