Published on 28 Aug 2023 on Zacks via Yahoo Finance
Horizon (HZNP) Up as FTC Pauses Acquisition by Amgen Lawsuit
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC"), through a filing in the Federal Court, temporarily suspended its lawsuit to block Horizon Therapeutics’ HZNP $27.8 billion acquisition by Amgen AMGN until Sep 18, 2023.
The FTC’s decision to pause the lawsuit is to allow the agency to consider whether it should settle the case or enter into negotiations with Amgen and Horizon. Following the news, Horizon’s share price climbed 5.8% during the after-market hours on Aug 25, 2023.
According to a Reuters article, Amgen issued a statement following the FTC’s strategic move, stating that AMGN welcomes the opportunity to prove the absence of any unscrupulous intent behind the impending acquisition agreement to the courts. Per Reuters, the agency and Amgen are due to meet in federal court in September to discuss the issue.