Home›US Markets›M&A & Deals›AstraZeneca slides on report it is in talks with Brist…

AstraZeneca slides on report it is in talks with Bristol Myers Squibb

AstraZeneca shares fell 8.9% in London, while Bristol Myers Squibb stock rose 1.7% before giving back gains, amid uncertainty about whether any deal will be concluded.

Reported · Written up by our desk · M&A & Deals

AstraZeneca dropped sharply after the Financial Times reported the UK drugmaker was in discussions to acquire Bristol Myers Squibb in a proposed near $400 billion tie-up that analysts said could face regulatory scrutiny due to overlap in oncology portfolios, The Guardian Business reports.

The report valued AstraZeneca at nearly £196 billion before the news broke, while Bristol Myers Squibb, based in Princeton, New Jersey, was worth $133 billion. A combination would create the world’s fourth-largest drugmaker by market value and one of the biggest pharmaceutical deals on record, according to the report.

AstraZeneca’s FTSE 100-listed shares plunged 8.9% to close at £115 in London, reducing its market value to about £178 billion and knocking it down to third-largest listed company in the UK behind Shell. In New York, BMS shares rose 1.7% after Wall Street opened, then reversed and fell by midday.

The Guardian Business said talks have reportedly been held in recent months, but there is no certainty a deal will be completed. It also noted AstraZeneca is investing $50 billion in research and manufacturing in the US by 2030, and analysts questioned the rationale and warned regulators would closely scrutinize the combined oncology pipeline.

Latest closeFTSE 100 10,857.70 ▼0.1%

More like this

Sources