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Is Verastem (VSTM) a takeover target?

A leveraged buyout does not work for Verastem on its latest figures: it has no positive EBITDA to borrow against (−$160M over the last 12 months, on revenue of $87.5M). Historically 6.8% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (1.35× the average).

Share price$8.38
Market value$839M
Enterprise value$727M
Cash$152M
Debt$40.7M
Revenue, 12 months$87.5M
Revenue growth+449%
EBITDA, 12 months−$160M

Why a leveraged buyout does not fit

A leveraged buyout is paid for mostly with debt that the company's own cash flow repays. Verastem's EBITDA over the last 12 months was −$160M on revenue of $87.5M, 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, Verastem would cost about $11.31 a share, $1.1B for all its shares.

Premium%Price a shareAll shares
Low end (a quarter of deals paid less)22%$10.22$1.0B
Median35%$11.31$1.1B
High end (a quarter paid more)45%$12.15$1.2B

The odds, from history

Historically 6.8% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (1.35× the average). Its figures put it in decile 9 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.

Verastem's latest quarter

Verastem, Q3 2026: revenue $24.0M (+114% year over year), operating margin -313.3%, net loss $74.7M, operating cash flow −$33.6M. The chart follows the revenue to costs, profit and cash.

Questions

Is Verastem being acquired?

No headline, 8-K or 13D about a sale is on file in the last year.

Could private equity buy Verastem?

A leveraged buyout does not work for Verastem on its latest figures: it has no positive EBITDA to borrow against (−$160M over the last 12 months, on revenue of $87.5M). 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 Verastem 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, Verastem would cost about $11.31 a share, $1.1B for all its shares.

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Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.