09:25 AM EDT, 06/03/2025 (MT Newswires) -- MoonLake Immunotherapeutics ( MLTX ) shares were rising almost 16% in recent Tuesday premarket activity after the Financial Times reported that Merck ( MRK ) has held talks for an over $3 billion acquisition of the Swiss biotechnology company.

Merck ( MRK ) submitted a non-binding offer for MoonLake earlier this year that valued it at over $3 billion, a premium to MoonLake's $2.6 billion market value, the report said, quoting people familiar with the matter.

The initial approach was not accepted but the talks could be revived, the report said, adding that there's no guarantee a deal will materialize and that other buyers may emerge.

MoonLake and Merck ( MRK ) didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by MT Newswires.

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