Irish pharmaceutical drug group Elan jumped 7 per cent or €1.30 to €18.2 after a newspaper report said a US drug company was weighing up an all-share bid of well over €8.5 billion.
According to a report in the Sunday Tribuneyesterday, Biogen Idec was considering the deal and it could be completed within nine months.
The two companies are jointly developing Antegren as a treatment for multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease.