Millennium to buy AnorMed for $515M

Cambridge, MA-based Millennium Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay $515 million to buy Canada's AnorMed, beating out Genzyme for the company. Genzyme had put AnorMed in play with its $380 million offer, but AnorMed signaled from the start that it felt it was worth more. Millennium is buying a company with no approved products but an advanced stem cell therapy, Mozobil, for treating certain types of blood cancer. Mozobil releases bone marrow cells so that they can be harvested and used to treat multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. AnorMed's shares jumped 26 percent on the news. The company is still able to entertain higher offers, but could face a termination fee if they end up rejecting Millennium as well.

"This proposed acquisition is aligned with our goal to bring in products that accelerate revenue growth, leverage our oncology sales infrastructure and benefit from our development, regulatory and commercial expertise," said Millennium CEO Deborah Dunsire.

- read the report on the buyout from TheStreet.com