Pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers is to buy Inhibitex for $2.5 billion to boost its position in hepatitis C medicines as it faces generic competition for its best-selling blood thinner Plavix this year.

Both boards have approved the transaction.

Inhibitex agreed to recommend that its shareholders accept an offer of $26 per share, more than double its closing price of $9.87 on Friday. Bristol chief executive Lamberto Andreotti said the acquisition of the firm, which is based in Georgia in the US, will enhance his company’s portfolio of hepatitis C medicines, a market that

may be worth $20 billion by 2020. – (Bloomberg)