UPDATE 2-Astellas ponders response to rival deal for CV

(Adds analyst, investor comments; updates share prices)

TOKYO, March 13 (Reuters) - Astellas Pharma (4503.T), Japan's second-largest drugmaker, said on Friday it had not decided how to respond after takeover target CV Therapeutics CVTX.O agreed to a higher offer from Gilead Sciences (GILD.O). [ID:nN12351289]

Astellas' shares rose 3 percent despite the news. Astellas needs new products to counter the impact of patent expiries on key products such as its prostate drug Flomax and Vesicare for over-active bladder. [ID:nBNG463895]

"The stock market may be assuming that Astellas would not enter a bidding war with Gilead and risk paying an excess premium," said Kenji Masuzoe, analyst at Deutsche Securities.

Astellas made a hostile $1 billion bid last month for CV, a U.S. biotechnology firm, in hopes CV's mainstay cardiovascular drugs and other products would help support its own earnings.

Its cash offer, which is due to close on March 27, was for $16 per CV share, and it has stuck to its first offer price since last November despite CV's repeated rejections.

On Thursday, Gilead, another U.S. biotech company, said CV had accepted its counter-offer of $20 a CV share. [ID:nN12351289]

Astellas has not decided on its next step yet.

"We will announce a decision as soon as possible," an Astellas spokeswoman said.

An investment firm fund manager who asked to remain anonymous said his firm had not tendered its shares in CV after Astellas' offer and sold part of its stake in the open market on Thursday for a profit.

He added that Astellas' offer was too low.

CV shares soared 31.5 percent to finish at $21.04 on the U.S. Nasdaq market on Thursday, while Gilead inched up 0.9 percent to $44.43, underscoring investor support for its CV bid.

Astellas shares, which had shown little reaction to its efforts to take over CV, closed up 3.2 percent at 2,935 yen in Tokyo on Friday.

The Topix subindex for the pharmaceutical sector .IPHAM.T rose 2.0 percent in a muted but typical defensive sector reaction to rallies in the broader market. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average .N225 which jumped 5.2 percent. (Reporting by Yumiko Nishitani; Editing by Hugh Lawson)