ImClone rejects Bristol-Myers Squibb's $4.3 billion bid; cites $6.1 billion fresh offer

Mumbai: Biotech company ImClone Systems today rejected Bristol-Myers Squibb's $4.3 billion bid as too low, and said it has received a higher offer from a large pharmaceutical company.

Without naming the new bidder, chairman Carl Icahn said the company offered $70 a share in cash, or almost $6.1 billion. Bristol-Myer's bid was for $60 a share.

''No determination has been made as to whether $70 per share would be adequate,'' ImClone said, adding, however, that it would allow the new bidder to review its books during the next two weeks.

ImClone shares rose as much as 8.2 per cent, not reaching the level of the latest offer.

Bristol-Myers already owns 17 per cent of ImClone, and the companies share profits of the cancer drug Erbitux, which generated $1.3 billion in sales last year. Germany's Merck KGaA sells Erbitux outside the US.

Analyst see it as Carl Icahn making a stance on where he thinks the bidding should start at.

ImClone rose $4.63, or 7.3 per cent, to $68.28 in at the Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading in the morning, after climbing to $68.89, less than the latest offer and suggesting that investors don't expect a better bid.

Bristol-Myers dropped 40 cents, or 1.8 per cent, to $21.64. Both companies are based in New York.