NEW YORK (AP) -- Facet Biotech Corp. said Thursday that its board of directors unanimously recommended shareholders reject a $493 million takeover bid from Biogen Idec Inc.
On Dec. 3, Biogen raised its offer for Facet to $17.50 per share from $14.50 per share, valuing Facet at a total of $493 million. The biotechnology company said it was the "best and final offer," which represented a premium of almost 25 percent to Facet's closing price that day. The offer will expire Dec. 16.
Facet had already repeatedly turned down the earlier Biogen offer.
"We analyzed the unsolicited, revised tender offer of Biogen Idec and determined that $17.50 per share does not reflect the value of our company and its prospects," said Facet President and CEO Faheem Hasnain in a statement Thursday.
The companies work together on the cancer drug candidate volociximab, and the multiple sclerosis drug daclizumab.
In a letter to shareholders, Facet said the revised Biogen offer provides insufficient value to developing products, including volociximab and daclizumab.
Shares of Facet, based in Redwood City, Calif., rose 59 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $17.98 in morning trading Thursday. The stock has traded between $5.86 and $50 over the last 52 weeks.
Shares of Biogen, based in Cambridge, Mass., rose 36 cents to $48.53 in morning trading.