Filing Flows › Gilead Sciences (GILD) › Takeover & LBO
Is Gilead Sciences (GILD) a takeover target?
A leveraged buyout does not work for Gilead Sciences on its latest figures: it has no positive EBITDA to borrow against (−$1.9B over the last 12 months, on revenue of $31.0B). Historically 3.3% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.66× the average).
Why a leveraged buyout does not fit
A leveraged buyout is paid for mostly with debt that the company's own cash flow repays. Gilead Sciences' EBITDA over the last 12 months was −$1.9B on revenue of $31.0B, so there is nothing to lend against and nothing to repay a loan with: a buyer would have to pay almost entirely with its own money. That is the kind of deal another company — a strategic buyer that wants the products, the pipeline or the technology — makes, not a private-equity fund. The model therefore gives no buyout price.
What a takeover could cost
Takeovers in its sector paid a median premium of 35% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 22% to 45%), according to the 15 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, Gilead Sciences would cost about $226.22 a share, $283.0B for all its shares.
| Premium | % | Price a share | All shares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low end (a quarter of deals paid less) | 22% | $204.44 | $255.7B |
| Median | 35% | $226.22 | $283.0B |
| High end (a quarter paid more) | 45% | $242.98 | $304.0B |
The odds, from history
Historically 3.3% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.66× the average). Its figures put it in decile 3 of 10 (10 = the most likely to be bought). The odds come from a model of every merger proxy, tender-offer response and going-private statement filed on EDGAR since 2011, set against each company's size, margins, debt, cash flow and growth the year before.
Gilead Sciences' latest quarter
Gilead Sciences, Q3 2026: revenue $8.3B (+7% year over year), operating margin 41.7%, net earnings $2.4B, operating cash flow $5.0B. The chart follows the revenue to costs, profit and cash.
Questions
Is Gilead Sciences being acquired?
No headline, 8-K or 13D about a sale is on file in the last year.
Could private equity buy Gilead Sciences?
A leveraged buyout does not work for Gilead Sciences on its latest figures: it has no positive EBITDA to borrow against (−$1.9B over the last 12 months, on revenue of $31.0B). With no cash flow to repay a loan, a buyer would pay almost entirely with its own money: a deal for another company (a strategic buyer), not for a private-equity fund.
What would a takeover of Gilead Sciences cost?
Takeovers in its sector paid a median premium of 35% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 22% to 45%), according to the 15 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, Gilead Sciences would cost about $226.22 a share, $283.0B for all its shares.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.