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| Elan CEO Kelly Martin |
Anxious to win support for its $6.6 billion bid to snap up Elan ($ELN) before the biotech company can spend its $3.25 billion Tysabri windfall on new therapies, Royalty Pharma has announced it's ready to complete due diligence in a matter of days and is setting up meetings with Elan shareholders to press its case. Elan execs, though, have made it clear that they don't want anything to do with Royalty Pharma. CEO Kelly Martin has told reporters that the offer is not credible. Elan has already offered to return $1 billion of the Tysabri cash to investors, then sweetened that with a further offer of 20% of its Tysabri royalties. With no other bidders on the horizon, the clock is ticking for both groups. Story