Bristol says bid for ImClone is full, fair offer

NEW YORK, July 31 (Reuters) - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co said (BMY.N) on Thursday its $60-a-share bid for ImClone Systems Inc IMCL.O represents a "full and fair" offer for the biotechnology company which co-markets its Erbitux cancer drug.

Shares of ImClone were trading at almost $64 a share in afternoon activity on the Nasdaq, prompting some analysts to speculate Bristol might have to increase its bid price for ImClone.

"We're very serious about acquiring the company," Bristol-Myers Chief Executive Officer Jim Cornelius said in a telephone conference call with journalists. The two companies divide sales of Erbitux, a treatment for colon and head-and-neck cancer. Bristol, which now owns 16.6 percent of ImClone's shares, aims to acquire the remaining shares.

"Should we not be successful on this one, we will move on to the next one on the list," Cornelius said, noting that Bristol-Myers remains committed to acquiring more biotech companies and products.

Cornelius and Bristol-Myers Chief Financial Officer Jean-Marc Huet said their company has not yet heard back from ImClone or its chairman Carl Icahn concerning the buyout offer. (Reporting by Ransdell Pierson, editing by Phil Berlowitz)