Diamonds and Dogs

8/22/16

M&A heats up for healthcare. The leading prostate cancer treatment company, Medivation (MDVN) is the diamond today up 19% after agreeing to be bought for $81.50 a share, a deal valued at about $14 billion. Rival drugmaker, Sanofi was also interested in Medivation, but it looks like Pfizer's deal will win out. We should see more drug deals between now and year end.

Musical chairs continue at Viacom. The long-running saga between the Redstone family and Philippe Dauman officially ended on Saturday with the release confirming that Dauman would step down as Viacom (VIAB) CEO so that his long-running lieutenant could assume the role. Many investors applauded the move, but shareholders are selling the stock down 4% at the close. It didn't help that their movie division, MGM Paramount bombed over the weekend with the new release of Ben-Hur.