Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Thursday January 26, 2012

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Thursday January 26, 2012:

:

Illumina

announced Thursday that its Board of Directors adopted a Rights Agreement, pursuant to which one preferred stock purchase right will be distributed as a dividend on each share of the Company's common stock held of record as of the close of business on February 6, 2012. Initially, the Rights will be represented by the Company's common stock certificates, or by the registration of uncertificated shares of common stock in the Company's share register, and will not be exercisable. The Rights Agreement, which is designed to deter coercive or otherwise unfair takeover tactics, was adopted in response to the announcement by Roche (

) of its unsolicited acquisition proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Illumina's common stock for $44.50 per share in cash. Illumina closed at $52.65 Thursday, a loss of 4.53% for the day on 4 times the average daily volume.

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Johnson & Johnson

to acquire Irish drug maker Elan

. This rumor has been going around for the last three years. Back on December 19, Bristol-Myers Squibb was the rumored buyer for $19 per share. A spokesperson for Elan had no comment, while a Johnson & Johnson spokesperson could not be reached for comment. Elan closed at $13.92 Thursday, a gain of 0.29% for the day on 1.3 times the average daily volume.

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Merck

to acquire Seattle Genetics

. The rumored acquisition price is $35 to $40 per share, based on an interest in the company's cancer drug pipeline, according to sources. Spokespersons for both Seattle Genetics and Merck would not comment on the rumor. On Wednesday, Merck was rumored to be looking at Idenix Pharmaceuticals. Seattle Genetics closed at $18.50 Thursday, a gain of 0.93% for the day on 1.4 times the average daily volume.

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Idenix Pharmaceuticals

will not be acquired due to the inferiority of their hepatitis C drug, according to dealReporter. Idenix has been mentioned as a target of several companies, including Merck on Wednesday. Idenix Pharmaceuticals closed at $14.33 Thursday, a loss of 2.85% for the day on slightly more than the average daily volume.

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Amgen

and Micromet

announced Thursday that the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Amgen will acquire Micromet for $11 per share in cash. The transaction, which values Micromet at approximately $1.16 billion, was unanimously approved by both the Amgen and Micromet Boards of Directors. Micromet closed at $10.94 Thursday, a gain of 32.13% for the day on 112 times the average daily volume.

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Celgene Corporation

and Avila Therapeutics announced Thursday a definitive merger agreement under which Celgene will acquire Avila. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Celgene will acquire Avila Therapeutics. for $350 million in cash, plus up to $195 million for milestones contingent upon the development and regulatory approval of AVL-292, as well as up to $380 million in potential milestone payments contingent upon the development and approval of candidates generated from the Avilomics platform. The acquisition of Avila Therapeutics will be accounted for as a purchase transaction that Celgene expects to be completed during the first quarter of 2012. The Company anticipates the acquisition will be neutral to 2012 non-GAAP diluted earnings guidance. Celgene closed at $72.66 Thursday, a loss of 1.53% for the day on slightly more than the average daily volume.