NVS - AstraZeneca considering bid for Mereo BioPharma - Report (update)

Update 7:55am: Adds Times report on advisers for a potential deal. The ADRs of Mereo BioPharma (MREO) jumped ~15% in the pre-market Friday after The Times reported that the Anglo-Dutch pharma giant AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) is considering a bid for the U.K.-based biotech. In 2017, Mereo (MREO) announced an exclusive license and option agreement with AstraZeneca (AZN), targeting certain product candidates containing a NE inhibitor. According to the report, one of Mereo's (MREO) other partners, including Novartis (NVS), OncXerna, and Ultragenyx (RARE), is likely to rival AstraZeneca (AZN) in its bidding.With three analysts covering the stock, Mereo (MREO) has two strong Buy recommendations and One Buy rating on Wall Street. However, its ADRs have lost more than 75% over the past 12 months to underperform the broader market, as shown in this graph. Separately, The Times of London reported that Evercore and Citigroup are said to be involved as advisers for a potential deal.

For further details see:

AstraZeneca considering bid for Mereo BioPharma – Report (update)