Biogen announces results of tender offer after CFO quits

US biotechnology company Biogen Idec has announced the preliminary results of its modified "Dutch Auction" tender offer which expired on 26 June 2007.

A Dutch auction is where the auctioneer begins with a high asking price, which is lowered until some participant is willing to accept the auctioneer's price, or a predetermined reserve price is reached. The winning participant pays the last announced price. This type of auction is convenient when it is important to sell quickly, since a sale never requires more than one bid.

Biogen expects to accept for payment an aggregate of 56,428,198 shares of its common stock at a purchase price of USD 53 (EUR 38.91) per share, for an aggregate share repurchase of approximately USD 3bn (EUR 2.2bn). The shares represent approximately 16.4 per cent of the shares outstanding as of 25 June 2007.

Based on a preliminary count by Computershare Trust, an aggregate of 56,428,198 shares were properly tendered and not withdrawn at or below USD 53, including 27,438,208 shares that were tendered through notice of guaranteed delivery.

The number of shares to be purchased is preliminary. The determination of the final number of shares to be purchased is subject to confirmation by the depositary. The actual number of shares validly tendered and not withdrawn will be announced following the completion of the confirmation process. Payment for the shares accepted for purchase will occur promptly thereafter.

Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs acted as financial advisors on this transaction. Biogen has also obtained a commitment from Merrill Lynch Capital and Goldman Sachs Credit Partners for up to a USD 1.5bn (EUR 1.1bn) term loan which will be used to partially finance the tender offer.

The share float followed the announcement of the departure of Peter Kellogg, executive vice-president of finance and the company's CFO, to become CFO at Merck & Co. Kellogg will leave Biogen on 10 August 2007. The company said it would announce its plans regarding the CFO position over the next several weeks.