In 2019, Bristol-Myers Squibb acquired Celgene for $74 billion.
Bristol-Myers Squibb announced the transaction in January 2019 and completed it on November 20 of that year. The deal was structured as a stock-and-cash transaction and valued Celgene at about $74 billion, or approximately $95 billion when Celgene’s debt was included. It was designed to strengthen Bristol Myers Squibb’s position in oncology and expand its drug pipeline.
Celgene was particularly important because of Revlimid, a major multiple-myeloma treatment, along with medicines and development programs in cancer and immunology. Celgene also contributed Juno Therapeutics and other biotechnology assets acquired before the merger.
Regulatory approval required a divestiture: Amgen purchased Celgene’s psoriasis drug Otezla for $13.4 billion. That condition addressed competition concerns while allowing the broader transaction to proceed. Novartis, Merck, and Pfizer are all major pharmaceutical companies, but none was the buyer in this 2019 deal.