A Delaware judge said she will not rule Tuesday on Pfizer’s (PFE) attempt for a restraining order to block Novo Nordisk’s topping bid for Metsera (MTSR).
The judge pushed the hearing until Wednesday afternoon as she doesn’t want to block a bidding war between Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Pfizer (PFE) over Metsera, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Morgan Zurn said on a conference call on Tuesday.
The judge’s decision comes as Pfizer and Novartis on Tuesday disclosed new higher bids in their battle for Metsera (MTSR), though Metsera declared the latest offer from Novo Nordisk as “superior.” Novo Nordisk (NVO) raised its bid to a total of $86.20 a share, or a total of $10 billion, while Pfizer upped its latest bid to as much as $70 a share, for a total of $8.1 billion.Pfizer (PFE) on Friday sued Metsera (MTSR), alleging breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and tortious interference in contract due to Metsera’s breach of its obligations after it agreed to merge with Pfizer. Pfizer on Monday said it filed a second lawsuit against Metsera, saying the Novo Nordisk (NVO) deal would violate antitrust laws.
Shares of Metsera jumped 20% on Tuesday, while Pfizer ticked lower by 0.6% and Novo Nordisk dropped 1.7%.