{"id":343200,"date":"2025-10-30T13:20:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T13:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/343200\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T13:20:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T13:20:14","slug":"ma-war-pfizer-blasts-rival-novo-nordisk-for-reckless-8-5b-hijack-of-metsera-obesity-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/343200\/","title":{"rendered":"M&#038;A War: Pfizer Blasts Rival Novo Nordisk for \u201cReckless\u201d $8.5B Hijack of Metsera Obesity Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Danish drug giant Novo Nordisk <a data-ticker=\"NVO\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tipranks.com\/stocks\/nvo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">(NVO)<\/a> has been accused by rival Pfizer <a data-ticker=\"PFE\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tipranks.com\/stocks\/pfe\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">(PFE)<\/a> of being \u201creckless\u201d after it tried to hijack the U.S. firm\u2019s agreed deal with obesity startup Metsera <a data-ticker=\"MTSR\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tipranks.com\/stocks\/mtsr\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">(MTSR)<\/a> with an $8.5 billion offer.<\/p>\n<p>Elevate Your Investing Strategy:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-top: 5px;\">\n<li> Take advantage of <a data-link=\"article_promo\" href=\"https:\/\/lp.tipranks.com\/july-2025-50off\/?coupon=intro50p&amp;llf=rss&amp;timer=on\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> TipRanks Premium at 50% off! <\/a> Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Novo\u2019s shares dropped 2% in pre-market trading. Pfizer stock was flat with Metsera up 20%.<\/p>\n<p>Novo said it had submitted an unsolicited proposal to buy biotech Metsera, which is aiming to \u201creduce the physical, emotional, and economic burdens of obesity\u201d, for $56.50 per share in cash upfront or $6 billion. The purchase price may increase by as much as $21.25 per share, or $2.5 billion, if certain targets are met.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Weight Loss Strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Novo said that the acquisition would be in line with its long-term strategy of developing medicines such as Wegovy to tackle obesity. It also marks the latest move by new Chief Executive Officer Maziar Mike Doustdar who is fighting to regain the company\u2019s lead in weight-loss drugs. Since taking over, he has announced thousands of job cuts and struck a $5 billion deal for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tipranks.com\/news\/catalyst\/akero-therapeutics-stock-soars-after-novo-nordisk-deal\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">liver disease drugmaker Akero Therapeutics<\/a>. \u00a0Novo added that the proposal is currently subject to review by the Metsera board of directors.<\/p>\n<p>Pfizer said in September it had agreed to acquire Metsera for $47.50 per share, or an enterprise value of $4.9 billion, with the potential for another $22.50 per share in payments if certain targets are hit. That would take the total to around $7.3 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Both firms are trying to lift their share prices, which have been in the doldrums this year. Chasing the global obesity drug market, which is projected to reach $150 billion by the early 2030s, should help.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tipranks.com\/compare-stocks\/custom?ticker=NVO&amp;ticker=PFE\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"896\" height=\"493\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-2797.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2562155\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In a statement today, Pfizer blasted Novo\u2019s move describing it as \u201creckless and unprecedented.\u201d It stated: \u201cIt is an attempt by a company with a dominant market position to suppress competition in violation of law by taking over an emerging American challenger. It is also structured in a way to circumvent antitrust laws and carries substantial regulatory and executional risk. The proposal is illusory and cannot qualify as a superior proposal under Pfizer\u2019s agreement with Metsera.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>All Legal Avenues<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It warned that it would \u201cpursue all legal avenues\u201d to enforce its rights. \u201cThe Pfizer transaction creates real, certain and immediate value for Metsera\u2019s stockholders and ensures Metsera\u2019s important drug candidate can emerge as a key competitor available to all Americans in this important therapeutic area,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNovo Nordisk is flexing its muscles,\u201d said Per Hansen, an investment economist at Nordnet AB. \u201cThey\u2019re going all in on expanding their pipeline. The consequence is that they\u2019re committing a significant portion of their financial leeway.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Metsera is scheduled to hold a shareholder meeting on 13th November that will include a vote on the Pfizer acquisition.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are the Best Healthcare Stocks to Buy Now?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We have rounded up the best healthcare stocks to buy now using our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tipranks.com\/compare-stocks\/healthcare-stocks\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TipRanks comparison tool.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tipranks.com\/compare-stocks\/healthcare-stocks\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"915\" height=\"804\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-2799.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2562207\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tipranks.com\/glossary\/d\/disclaimer-disclosure\" style=\"margin-right: 32px;\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Disclaimer &amp; Disclosure<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tipranks.com\/glossary\/c\/contact-editor\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Report an Issue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Danish drug giant Novo Nordisk (NVO) has been accused by rival Pfizer (PFE) of being \u201creckless\u201d after it&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":343201,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[210,1141,1142,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-343200","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-health-care","10":"tag-healthcare","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115463325347725138","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}