Looking to make a splash at JPMorgan, Eli Lilly rushed to put its $8B buyout deal together for Loxo in 10 days

Eli Lilly execs were in a rush when they sat down with Loxo CEO Josh Bilenker 5 days ahead of last Christmas. They wanted to buy his company and were prepared to pay $230 a share. But it had to be done now; CEO Dave Ricks wanted to announce the buyout on the morning of January 7, just as the annual JPMorgan confab got underway.