Novo Nordisk in bidding war, left-wing party narrow favourite in Copenhagen election, Conservatives call for new ban on bikers and more news from Denmark this Friday.
Novo Nordisk in bidding war with Pfizer for obesity drugmaker
Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk yesterday announced an unsolicited bid to acquire obesity treatment maker Metsera, topping an offer from US rival Pfizer which called the move “reckless”.
Novo Nordisk’s bid valued the US biotech firm at $6 billion.
“Under the terms of the proposal, Novo Nordisk would acquire all outstanding shares of Metsera’s common stock at a price of $56.50 per share in cash,” Novo Nordisk said in a statement.
It added that the bid was “currently subject to review by the Metsera board of directors.”
In September, Pfizer said it would pay $47.50 per share to acquire Metsera, valuing the company at $4.9 billion.
Left-wing party is bookmaker’s favourite to win local election in Copenhagen
Betting association Danske Spil says that the left-wing Red Green Alliance party could win the local election in Copenhagen on November 18th and thereby become the party of the city mayor.
Such a result would represent a notable shift at the capital’s Rådhus (City Hall), which has long been a Social Democratic stronghold. Copenhagen has never had a city mayor from any other party.
The lead candidate for the Red-Green Alliance, Line Barfod, is now the bookmaker’s favourite to become mayor ahead of Social Democratic rival Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil.
The race is still tight, bookmakers have stressed.
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Conservative party wants to ban Hells Angels
The Conservative Party wants Hells Angels to join fellow biker gang Bandidos and street gang LTF on the list of banned associations in Denmark.
“Hells Angels should be banned because they’ve done nothing other than act like criminals and ruin Denmark with crime since the 1970s,” party leader Mona Juul told news wire Ritzau.
Section 78 of the Danish constitution protects the right to form associations, but they can be banned by a court if they are proved to have illegal purposes.
“Firstly, it’s important to stand up to drug crime, violence and murder, make it hard to establish a group, make it hard to recruit, and show clearly what we accept in Danish society,” she said when asked about the benefits of a ban.
Juul’s comments come after Bandidos were forcibly dissolved in a court case this week, a verdict which the group has appealed.
Swiss national railway unveils new night train to Sweden via Denmark
After months of uncertainty about the future of night trains, Swiss railway SBB has revealed the details of its upcoming service to Malmö via Copenhagen, departing from Basel.
SBB announced the launch of the new route, even though it said previously that night trains are not profitable as they entail significant costs for rolling stock, track access charges and staff.
The service will stop at five stations in Denmark including Kolding and Odense as well as Copenhagen Airport.