Roche’s $3.5B Bet on 89bio (ETNB) – Stock Soars to New Highs as NASH Breakthrough Looms
89bio has dominated biotech headlines in late 2025 due to Roche’s takeover move. On October 30, 2025, Roche announced it had successfully completed a tender offer for 89bio at $14.50/share + a $6.00 CVR, and would immediately merge 89bio into its subsidiaryroche.cominvesting.com. By acquiring over 60% of shares in the tender, Roche was able to execute a short-form merger without a shareholder voteinvesting.cominvesting.com. All remaining ETNB shares will convert into the same $14.50 + CVR deal, and 89bio’s stock will cease trading on Nasdaqinvesting.comroche.com. The merger is the culmination of an agreement first announced on Sept 18, 2025, when 89bio’s board unanimously approved Roche’s offer, which represented a hefty premium to the marketroche.comroche.com. This buyout news sent 89bio’s stock soaring to near-record highs. ETNB stock, which was ~$9 just six months prior, jumped toward the $14.50 deal price and has since hovered around $14.8–$15.0investing.com. As of Nov 5, 2025, the stock is essentially pinned at the buyout price. It closed its final trading day at $14.84, just pennies below the 52-week peak of $15.06investing.com. This marks an 85.7% one-year return for shareholdersinvesting.com – a dramatic run-up driven largely by positive trial results earlier in the year and takeover speculation. “The
