Amgen had settlement talks with FTC over Horizon, though no agreement - report
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Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) has had some talks with the Federal Trade Commission about settling the regulator's lawsuit to block the Horizon Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HZNP) deal. Horizon ticked up 0.9%.
The discussions haven't led to a settlement, according to CNBC's David Faber, who cited sources. The issue at least partly appears to be that the FTC staff can't really guarantee that the three FTC commissioners will go forward with the recommendation made by the FTC staff, making the companies reluctant to negotiate. 
The report comes after it was disclosed on Thursday that six states have joined the FTC''s lawsuit to block Amgen's (AMGN) planned $28 billion acquisition of Horizon (HZNP). New York, California, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Washington state joined the FTC's lawsuit to block the combination on antitrust grounds, according to a court filing.
Amgen (AMGN) earlier this month said it won't close the deal before Oct. 31 or the second business day after the court rules on the FTC's request to block the deal. A court filing at the time also indicated that Amgen was free to close the deal if the FTC didn't file a suit with Administration Law Judge 20 days after the filing was made on June 2. Traders believed that Thursday was the deadline for the filing with ALJ.
Last month, U.S. District Judge John Kness initially set a hearing for Sept. 11 on the FTC's efforts to block the combination.
Amgen (AMGN) agreed to acquire Horizon Therapeutics (HZNP) for $116.50 a share in cash in December, valuing the Ireland-based biotech at nearly $27.8 billion.
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