WALL STREET PAYDAY: Banks could reap $90 million in fees from the Gilead-Kite deal

Wall Street investment banks are set to make as much as $90 million in fees from Gilead Sciences' $11.9 billion acquisition of Kite Pharma.

Gilead, the maker of blockbuster hepatitis C and HIV treatments, announced Monday it had acquired the cancer-immunotherapy company at a 29% premium, breaking a long hiatus from major dealmaking.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Lazard advised Gilead on the transaction, and they'll split an estimated $30 million to $40 million for their work, according to Jeffrey Nassof, director of consulting firm Freeman & Co.

Kite's bankers will collect $40 million to $50 million, the lion's share going to Centerview Partners and the remainder to Jefferies and Cowen and Company.

Sources familiar with the transaction told Business Insider that Gilead inked the deal, its first major acquisition since 2011, because it was impressed by Kite's trial data and thought it had a strategic edge over competitors.

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