Human Genome Sciences Agrees to $3.6B Sale

British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline will buy Human Genome Sciences for $3.6 billion, the Rockville-based biotechnology firm announced in statement on Monday.

’s board . The board felt the bid, equal to $13 a share, was too low.

The sale price is equal to $14.25 a share.

“After a thorough analysis of strategic alternatives, HGS has determined that a combination with GSK is the best course of action for our company and the best way to maximize value for our stockholders,” stated H. Thomas Watkins, HGS president and CEO.

“HGS has had a long and productive working relationship with GSK, and together we will be uniquely positioned to achieve the full potential of (the lupus drug) Benlysta and other products in our pipeline for the benefit of those battling serious disease around the world,” Watkins said.

HGS’s future in Rockville is uncertain, the Business Journal reported.

The sale ends a months-long standoff between the two companies that included Glaxo making a direct offer to shareholders to buy their shares and HGS countering by enacting a “poison pill” of shareholder rights, The Washington Post reported. 

HGS’s due in part to the high costs of the rollout of Benlysta, which is being developed jointly with Glaxo.

News of the buyout led to HGS being listed among “US HOT STOCKS” in The Wall Street Journal on Monday, when shares of the stock rose 62 cents to $14.20.

HGS shares (symbol: HGSI) were trading on NASDAQ at $14.21 as of 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday.