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Today we are watching…
1.ย Novartisย (#novart-adr)
This huge Swiss pharmaceutical firm is about to get even bigger with the bolt-on acquisition of Medicines Co., the biotech firm behind the cholesterol-lowering drug, inclisiran. There are 9.7-billion-dollars in motion, with the deal already approved by both boards for Novartis to pay $85 per Medicines Co. share. Thatโs a 25% premium to their closing price on Friday, rewarding investors in the smaller company with a sweet windfall! From a Novartis standpoint, “pay-to-win” acquisitions like this could patch over expired patents and resurrect a cardiovascular franchise that once served millions. Itโs unlikely Medicines Co. is the firmโs last purchase, so watch this space!
2. Mobile TeleSystems (#mbt-adr)
Hereโs a new one for yaโ, the largest mobile operator in Russia! Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) is the go-to telecoms network for over 100 million Russians, Ukrainians, Armenians, and Belarusians. The firm dominates market share, makes billions of rubles in profit, and investors may also be surprised to hear that MTS once made it into the Financial Timesโ Worldโs Most Powerful Brands list! This September, however, things took a turn. In a vast data breach, over a terabyte of customersโ personal information found its way onto the Internet for all to see. However, with Russiaโs most recent economic data suggesting an acceleration in regional growth, MTS may still be a pick to shortlist for brave investors.