Why the Bristol-Myers Squibb Acquisition Is a Bad Deal for Celgene

2019 has started off with a bang in the biopharmaceutical industry. On Thursday, Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) announced that it planned to acquire Celgene(NASDAQ: CELG) in a deal valued at $74 billion. 

Celgene shares understandably jumped on the news. The biotech stock plunged nearly 40% in 2018 and was in desperate need of a catalyst. However, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) stock sold off, no doubt in part because the pharma company will have to take on a lot of additional debt to fund the transaction.