Interim Chief Executive Officer James Cornelius has been locked into position at Bristol-Myers Squibb until 2009, fueling speculation he is preparing to sell the drugmaker.

"Given his track record, the limited term of his appointment, and his previous lack of interest in the job on a permanent basis, investors may not rule out the possibility that the company may pursue strategic options such as a sale," said Roopesh Patel, an analyst with UBS Financial Services.

"We continue to think that a potential deal may still happen at some point and the most likely bidder remains Sanofi- Aventis," said Prudential Financial analyst Timothy Anderson.

Sanofi-Aventis, based in Paris, is a partner with Bristol-Myers on the cholesterol drug Plavix and blood pressure drug Avapro.

Until recently, Cornelius, who was appointed interim chief after Peter Dolan was ousted in September, said he didn't want the job permanently.

Last year he engineered the $27.5 billion sale of heart device maker Guidant to Boston Scientific. His subsequent appointment as interim chief contributed to speculation that Bristol-Myers might be up for sale.

"We are trying to run the business as a free-standing, independent company and do the right thing for shareholder value," Cornelius said in a recent conference call with investors.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. named interim Chief Executive Officer James Cornelius to the job until 2009, fueling speculation he is preparing to sell the drugmaker.

Cornelius, 63, replaced the ousted Peter Dolan in September and until today said he didn't want the job permanently. Last year he engineered the $27.5 billion sale of Guidant Corp. to Boston Scientific Corp.

(Continue reading this story on Bloomberg)

Next article » Motorola to Boost Video Technology with Terayon Acquisition

Previous article « Unibail To Buy Rodamco for Nearly $15B