• My research leads me to believe that recent corporate, legal, and strategic signals suggest that Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) may be preparing to acquire Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR). In Delaware I found something that might indeed substantiate last week speculation by Street-Insider!

  
  

• A newly incorporated TAHOE ACQUISITION CORPORATION (10339554), registered in Delaware on October 15, 2025, follows an identical naming pattern to previous LLY buyout entities. Since post 2020 when “MERGER SUB” became a standard in M&A structure, LLY is standing out for still using the “ACQUISITION CORPORATION” (See low false signals number later in this note).

• This is important because the new pattern is usually “MERGER SUB”, LLY is the outlier still consistently using “ACQUISITION CORPORATION” + “Nature theme”.

  
  

• Combined with recent litigation pause (Oct 2025), strong Phase 2b eczema clinical data (Jun 2024), and street-insider reported takeover chatter (Oct 17, 2025), the probability that this incorporation relates to LLY’s pending transaction with NKTR increases.

  
  

• The trial was vacated, and given Nektar’s still modest market capitalization, Lilly may be preparing to use the classic “don’t fight them—buy them” strategy.

  
  With NKTR projected $1.5–2 billion in peak sales potential, Lilly could easily justify paying around $2.5 billion, implying roughly a 100% premium over Nektar’s current $62.50 share price.

  
  

• I won’t delve into the technical details of why Nektar could be a strong strategic fit — what matters is that:

  • LLY and NKTR have collaborated before
  • Nektar delivered outstanding results this year, and the
  • data points highlighted in this research note suggest Lilly may be preparing to act soon.

  
  



Pattern Recognition: LLY’s Acquisition Vehicle Naming Convention



Over the past two years, Eli Lilly has used a distinct naming convention for its U.S. acquisition shells — all tied to nature or U.S. national park landmarks, always ending with “Acquisition Corporation.”

A review of the Delaware business registry shows that since 2018, the term “Acquisition Corporation” is rarely used in M&A transactions, with Eli Lilly being the notable exception for keeping using it.



A dataset comprised of 1,000+ keywords (which should covered almost the entirety of the pool from which LLY has picked in the past) only yielded two possible incorporations following this pattern in 2025.



Other than TAHOE ACQUISITION CORPORATION, the other one, RIDGEWAY, was used by LLY for the Verve Therapeutics acquisition (the file number is sequential).

Not many other results other than those, not even one a year!

What are the chances that we spot a vehicle matching LLY’s pattern the very same week NKTR M&A chatters come out?

And no, THOE ACQUISITION CORPORATION was not incorporated using some cheap service such as Harvard Business Services, Inc but it was incorporated with THE CORPORATION TRUST COMPANY a registration service company owned by the multinational Wolters Kluwer and used by all major American Law-firms.

All previous vehicles (last 5 at least) used by LLY in acquisitions have been registered in Delaware using a subsidiary of Wolters Kluwer and the reported number (302-658-7581) and address (1209 ORANGE ST) are identical.



The appearance of TAHOE ACQUISITION CORPORATION (matching the LLY name pattern) at around the same time of the emergence of the street insider reported NEKTAR takeover chatter as well as the paused in the NEKTAR vs. Eli Lilly lawsuit in my view increase the possibility of it being a Eli Lilly’s vehicle for a NEKTAR acquisition



The Timing: A Perfect Alignment

• June-July 2025: After positive Phase 2 results, Nektar raised about $115 million in a public offering — not enough for a Phase 3 and likely a bridge move to negotiate a potential transaction from a stronger position..
• Tuesday, October 14, 2025:the court vacated the pre-trial conference and jury trial
• Wednesday, October 15, 2025: TAHOE ACQUISITION CORPORATION is incorporated in Delaware — two days beforerumors surface.

• Friday, October 17, 2025: StreetInsider and social media circulate speculation of a potential LLY–NKTR acquisition.

Legal Context: The Nektar–Lilly Litigation Freeze

Case: Nektar Therapeutics v. Eli Lilly & Co., U.S. District Court (N.D. California), Judge James Donato
Timeline:

• Trial originally scheduled for October 21, 2025.
• On October 14, the court vacated the pre-trial conference and jury trial, citing: “To conserve judicial resources and reduce expenditures.”

• A status conference was set for December 11, 2025 instead.

While this could be because of the government shut down, we only see another case where judge Donato Stopped the trial and (per ChatGPT, was for other “procedural reason”)

Invest Carefully and Enjoy

Unemon