Abivax Surges on Report Eli Lily is Preparing $17.5 Billion Bid
By Joe Stonor
Shares in Abivax surged on a report that Eli Lilly was ready to offer 15 billion euros ($17.45 billion) for the biotech startup.
Stock in the French company rose 22% in early European trading to 120.80 euros after climbing as much as 30% earlier in the session. It has a market capitalization of around 7.78 billion euros.
Eli Lilly is yet to submit a formal bid to the Abivax board, French outlet La Lettre reported. The U.S. pharmaceutical giant is awaiting an indication from the French regulator on whether a bid would be subject to France's foreign investment rules.
Abivax shares have risen steadily since late July, when the company traded at 42.6 euros. The company announced positive Phase 3 trial results for a drug to treat inflammatory bowel disease on July 23, while recent takeover speculation has spurred the stock higher.
Neither Abivax nor Eli Lilly immediately responded to requests for comment.
Write to Joe Stonor at josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
This article was corrected at 05:57 a.m. ET to fix the misspelled company name in the headline.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 12, 2026 05:10 ET (10:10 GMT)
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