What lies behind Roche’s decision to offer nearly $44bn for the 44 per cent stake it does not already own in Genentech?

There seems, on the surface at least, no compelling reason to fork out so much cash up front to secure annual cost synergy benefits of about $750m in a company that Roche has controlled for the past two decades. As one analyst noted on Monday, strategically the deal does not change the big picture very much since the Swiss pharmaceutical group is already a majority shareholder in Genentech. If anything, a full takeover could undermine the pioneering hands-off corporate culture that has allowed Roche and its affiliates – in particular Genentech – to flourish.