How Kite came from a position of strength to get Gilead to boost its buyout price by 42%

Usually when two biopharma companies negotiate a merger and the final price ends up soaring way past the original offering price, it’s because there’s another bidder lurking in the wings, ready to swoop in with a better offer. But Gilead Sciences’ $12 billion buyout of Kite Pharma wasn’t your everyday big bio deal—far from it, in fact.