ImClone plays hard to get, considers spin-off

Don't expect Carl Icahn to be grabbing any first bid that comes his way--especially if it's Bristol-Myers Squibb's paltry $4.5 billion for ImClone, where the renegade investor now holds sway as chairman of the board. The company is studying the offer, but says the bid "substantially undervalues" its worth. And Icahn has reportedly told the board he doesn't favor the offer.

One option: Spin off the development side of the company into a new venture, which could be worth an estimated $1 billion.

"Based upon preliminary internal data, and recognizing that the pipeline products are in various stages of development, the board still believes that the company's pipeline business may be extremely valuable and significantly increase stockholder value as a separate business," the company said.

Whether the company is serious about a spin-off or just wants BMS to get on to its next, sweetened offer will soon become apparent.

- see ImClone's release
- read the story from the Star-Ledger

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