Pfizer Makes Another Bid for AstraZeneca
After being turned down previously, Pfizer Inc. is again making a proposal to acquire drug maker AstraZeneca PLC — this time for a reported $100 billion. The possible combination would marry complementary products, add to Pfizer's new product pipeline and deliver operating assets to Pfizer’s revamped operating structure. An article from the Associated Press reported that Pfizer executives expect the combination to also bring major savings, which may signal job and other cost cuts.
The AP article also reports that Pfizer executives said AstraZeneca management rejected an initial bid in January, but Pfizer renewed its offer Saturday due to "recent market developments". For example, last week, Swiss drug maker Novartis AG agreed to swap its vaccine business for GlaxoSmithKline PLC's cancer drug unit and sell its veterinary drug unit to Eli Lilly and Co. Meanwhile, Canada's Valeant Pharmaceuticals and activist investor Bill Ackman made a cash-and-stock offer worth about $45.6 billion for Botox and eye drug maker Allergan Inc.
"This transaction, I believe, will make us a stronger company and will give us greater cash flow and more ability to invest," Pfizer CEO Ian Read told journalists.
Shares in AstraZeneca rose by more than 14 percent on Monday, April 28, after Pfizer confirmed its interest in a takeover bid.
To read the AP article in its entirety, click here.
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The AP article also reports that Pfizer executives said AstraZeneca management rejected an initial bid in January, but Pfizer renewed its offer Saturday due to "recent market developments". For example, last week, Swiss drug maker Novartis AG agreed to swap its vaccine business for GlaxoSmithKline PLC's cancer drug unit and sell its veterinary drug unit to Eli Lilly and Co. Meanwhile, Canada's Valeant Pharmaceuticals and activist investor Bill Ackman made a cash-and-stock offer worth about $45.6 billion for Botox and eye drug maker Allergan Inc.
"This transaction, I believe, will make us a stronger company and will give us greater cash flow and more ability to invest," Pfizer CEO Ian Read told journalists.
Shares in AstraZeneca rose by more than 14 percent on Monday, April 28, after Pfizer confirmed its interest in a takeover bid.
To read the AP article in its entirety, click here.
Related Articles:
2013 Top 100: Pharmaceuticals
Nestl Completes Acquisition of Pfizer Nutrition
Former Pfizer Exec Named President Bayer Consumer