By the way, for the conspiracy activists who post
Post# of 11802
There is an ongoing attempt to arrange a management buyout of Lifescan. The anointed god emperor of this attempt is:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alere
He is available, as is his most immediate marketing, sales, and planning staff, all people in their 40s and 50s, all of whom made Lifescan the powerhouse it became, all who left or were asked to leave when Lifescan's infamous Ultima product (their future) was not allowed clearance by the FDA in early 2012. That FDA ruling was the beginning of the end of Lifescan. For five years the NSE ruling was one of the industry's biggest secrets and biggest unsolved mysteries.
My guess, a 15% discount from Lifescan's enterprise value of $2.7 billion, or $2.3 billion. J&J will throw in Animus as a door prize. It will all be completed with J&J money. J&J will give the venture $3 billion. The first thing that the god emperor does will be to bring in product development and program management talent. No more than 2-3 guys. They will be hard to find. The talent they need are all in their 60s -- either someone from KB's BMC/Roche crew, or Matt Musho's Bayer crew. Desperate times require desperate measures. And besides all of the talent, now in their 60s, are like every other professional at the tail end of successful careers -- looking for that one last challenge.
The acquisition will have no holdbacks. After all the new management team invented Lifescan's scorched earth policy. The contingent liabilities will carry through, including DECN's suit.
I may be wrong, but with no new offers materializing, I see no other way. The first sign of this outcome will be on June 15 when J&J asks Platinum for a 90 day extension.
You like this type of stuff. Read Barbarians at the Gate.
And again, I may be all wrong about this.