Pharmion shareholder seeks to delay Celgene merger vote

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., Feb. 6 - SAC Capital Advisors, LLC and its affiliates believe the proposed merger of Pharmion Corp. and Celgene Corp. has its merits.

However, SAC, a Pharmion shareholder, believes the merger consideration should be increased or the shareholder vote should be delayed.

SAC wants shareholders to have more time to assess competitive data from the phase 3 Dacogen EORTC study, according to a schedule 13D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

On Nov. 19, it was announced that Celgene agreed to acquire Pharmion for $72.00 per share in a cash and stock transaction valued at $2.9 billion.

As previously reported, under the merger agreement, each share of Pharmion common stock will be exchanged for $25.00 in cash plus shares of Celgene common stock in an amount to be determined by an exchange ratio.

SAC beneficially owns some 3.10 million shares, or 8.3%, of Pharmion common stock.

The investors purchased 34,468 shares of Pharmion stock between Dec. 14 and Feb. 1 priced from $65.56 to $70.05.

Celgene is a Summit, N.J., biopharmaceutical company.

Pharmion is a Boulder, Colo., oncology company.

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