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Max Nisen

Gilead Overspends to Quiet Deal Clamor

Its purchase is timed to be as expensive as possible, with limited upside.
The Gilead Sciences Inc. signage is seen at the Gilead Sciences, Inc. laboratory in Foster City, California, U.S., on Wednesday, August 10, 2011.

The Gilead Sciences Inc. signage is seen at the Gilead Sciences, Inc. laboratory in Foster City, California, U.S., on Wednesday, August 10, 2011.

Photographer: David Paul Morris
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There's a price tag on everything, possibly even happiness. For Gilead Sciences Inc. shareholders irate over the company's multi-year case of the deal yips as its growth stagnates, happiness apparently costs about $12 billion. 

That's what Gilead is paying for Kite Pharma Inc., which is developing a therapy that modifies immune cells to fight blood cancer. Gilead's shares rose more than two percent on the news Monday, as investors cheered the end of its inaction.