The shares of Athenex Inc. (NASDAQ:ATNX) climbed ~70% on rising volumes in the post-market Thursday in reaction to reports that India's Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (RDY) and Intas Pharmaceuticals are in talks to acquire the cancer-focused biotech.
The companies are competing against several mid-market healthcare-focused U.S. private equity funds to strike a deal as the biotech looks to sell a controlling stake, India's The Economic Times newspaper reported citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The clinical-stage biotech is said to have named Cowen to lead a formal process to find an acquirer. "A formal process has started, and the first round of offers have come in," one of the people said.
"Intas and Dr. Reddy's are the two Indian firms in the race at present. A transaction could be concluded during the current quarter."
Athenex (ATNX) is the latest biotech to generate reports of buyout interest on Thursday. Before the market open, Amgen (AMGN) announced an agreement to acquire ChemoCentryx (CCXI) for $3.7B in cash.