Pharmasset Poised to Pay 20% With Gilead Deal Closing: Real M&A

After attracting a record windfall for a drug takeover, Pharmasset Inc. is now offering the biggest annualized return of any U.S. deal for traders willing to bet on smooth development of its experimental hepatitis C treatment.

Gilead Sciences Inc. agreed last month to buy Pharmasset of Princeton, New Jersey, for $10.8 billion, 94 percent more than its 20-day trading average and the highest premium on record for a drug takeover of comparable size, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. After the shares fell 3.4 percent in the last week, the $137-a-share price tag would deliver an annualized return of at least 20 percent if the purchase closes in the first quarter as projected. That’s the highest potential gain of any pending U.S. deal greater than $1 billion, the data show.