AbbVie to Buy Oncology Company Pharmacyclis

AbbVie will spend about $21 billion to buy leukemia drugmaker Pharmacyclics in its first major deal attempt since walking away from a $55 billion takeover of Shire last fall. The North Chicago, Illinois, company said late Wednesday that it will pay $261.25 a share for Pharmacyclics, which makes Imbruvica, a drug approved to treat 3 different types of blood cancers. That represents a premium of about 21% to the closing price of Pharmacyclics shares on Tuesday.

The stock had surged Wednesday after London's Financial Times, citing sources it did not name, reported that competing drugmaker Johnson & Johnson was close to buying Pharmacyclics. That report also cautioned that the J&J deal might unravel.

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