Takeover talk about Biogen Inc. is getting louder.
Biogen’s stock shot up 9.3 percent on Tuesday after the Wall Street Journal reported that two larger drug makers had approached the Cambridge company about a potential acquisition.
Market chatter about a buyout involving Biogen, the world leader in multiple sclerosis medicines, has been rampant for more than a year — with some on Wall Street suggesting Biogen could purchase another big biotech and others describing it as takeover bait.
Biogen’s market value is more than $72 billion, making it the largest Massachusetts biotech and the state’s most highly valued public company. Its shares closed at $330.11 on Tuesday, up $28.28. They gave back 2.3 percent in after-hours trading.
Merck & Co. and Allergan PLC have both made preliminary overtures to Biogen, according to the Journal report, which quoted unnamed sources. The Journal said the sources acknowledged that “Biogen may not be interested’’ in being purchased.
RBC Capital Markets biotech analyst Michael Yee estimated Biogen could fetch $400 a share from an acquirer — and potentially more if a deal could be structured so current shareholders profit if its lead Alzheimer’s drug candidate is approved.
“This is not a total shock to me or other investors,’’ Yee said of the takeover speculation. “Strategically, this is not a surprise. The company could be attractive to a lot of buyers, not just one or two, because of its products and a big pipeline opportunity.’’
A buyout of Biogen by either Merck, based in Kenilworth, N.J., or Allergan, which has its headquarters in Dublin, could be the biggest biotech takeover by far, and rank among the largest among all drug makers. Earlier this year, Shire PLC, also based in Dublin but run from Lexington, paid $32 billion for Baxalta Inc.
Jason Glashow, a spokesman for Biogen, wouldn’t comment on the Journal report. Representatives of Merck and Allergan also declined to discuss it.
Last month, Biogen said its longtime chief executive, George Scangos, 68, would depart by early next year, after the company names a successor. That could make a takeover easier because deals are often derailed by fights over who will run the combined company. But if Biogen moves ahead with hiring a new CEO, or moves to acquire a smaller company, that could signal its determination to remain independent.
Biogen recently announced plans to split off its hemophilia drug franchise into a separate business. It is working to develop a portfolio of drugs to treat neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and spinal muscular atrophy, in part to offset slowing growth in its core multiple sclerosis drug market. But even if its new experimental therapies are successful, it could still be years before they reach the market.
A bumper crop of biopharma mergers and acquisitions in recent years have been driven in part by low borrowing costs and a push by drug makers to expand their product lines, said Lexington life sciences consultant Harry Glorikian.
“From where I’m sitting, everyone’s looking for acquisitions because money is cheap,’’ Glorikian said. “If you ever had the chance to buy assets, this would be the time. Biogen’s got a pretty decent portfolio in the neurology area and a pipeline that could make it attractive.’’
While it closed at its high for 2016 on Tuesday, the company’s share price still remains more than 30 percent below its $480 peak in March 2015.
Biogen, which cut 400 jobs in Massachusetts as part of a restructuring last fall, continues to reduce its local head count. The company now employs about 2,900 in Cambridge and Weston, and a total of about 7,000 worldwide. But in June, it said it will stop producing drugs at its Cambridge manufacturing plant by the end of the year, a move that could idle up to 285 workers.
Robert Weisman can be reached at robert.weisman@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeRobW.
