Treated like Royalty

Elan Corp. plc (NYSE:ELN) investors didn't seem to mind that Royalty Pharma's $11 per share bid for the company specifically precludes Elan's share buyback plans. Instead, shareholders in the biotech may expect Royalty Pharma to sweeten its bid or for a new suitor to enter the mix, as Elan closed last week at $11.46, up $0.86.

Royalty publicly announced its bid on Feb. 25, after about a week of behind the scenes efforts that bore no fruit. The news sent Elan's stock up $0.54 to $11.14 last Monday, boosting the company's market cap by $320 to $6.6 billion...