Merck (MRK) in Talks to Acquire Cubist Pharma (CBST) for ~$8B

Merck (NYSE: MRK) is in talks to acquire Cubist Pharma (Nasdaq: CBST) for about $8 billion, or $100 per share, the Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend, citing people familiar with the matter. The New York Times' DealBook first reported about a potential deal late Friday.

Cubist specializes in the treatment of infectious diseases. Its top selling drug is Cubicin, although analysts see the next leg of growth coming from Zerbaxa, which treats Gram negative infections.

A deal at $100 per share, would come at an approximately 34% premium to Friday's market close of $74.36 for Cubist.

As recently at October 20th, rumors surfaced that Shire (Nasdaq: SHPG) could be looking at Cubist following the collapse of its AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) deal. It is unclear if a talks between Shire and Cubist ever occurred.

Earlier in the year, Merck announced plans to sell its Consumer Care business to Bayer AG for $14.2 billion which boosted its cash reserves substantially once the deal closed in October. In June, Merck agreed to acquire Idenix Pharmaceutical for $3.85 billion. The Idenix deal closed in August.

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