AstraZeneca speaks out: Pfizer bid “undervalued” company April 28, 2014 AstraZeneca has responded to the announcement from Pfizer this morning regarding a second takeover bid from the US pharma giant. The UK firm has said that the initial bid, made by Pfizer in January, “very significantly undervalued” it and its prospects. It was also concerned about the size of the share component of the bid, [...]
Pfizer confirms takeover interest in AstraZeneca April 28, 2014 US drugs maker Pfizer has confirmed it’s approached UK rival AstraZeneca regarding a possible takeover bid. Shares in the latter have leapt 15 per cent on the announcement. Pfizer says the deal would "bring together highly complementary businesses, enhancing the combined company's ability to meet patients' needs." Shareholders would see “a significant premium” on the [...]
AstraZeneca keeps schtum on Pfizer approach as profits plunge April 24, 2014 The UK’s second-largest drugs firm has announced its quarterly earnings this morning, making no mention of the reported £60bn bid approach from US pharma giant Pfizer. AstraZeneca said profit before tax fell 50 per cent to $638m (£380m) in the first quarter of 2014, from $1.3bn a year earlier, as it felt the loss of [...]
Here’s how the City’s top analysts think an AstraZeneca-Pfizer deal could play out April 22, 2014 Fresh talk of a bid by pharma giant Pfizer for UK rival AstraZeneca has seen shares in the target company jump. Investors are getting excited about a potential second move for AstraZeneca, with stock currently up 6.8 per cent on the FTSE 100, at more than 4,030p. That increase dwarfs the FTSE 100's overall rise [...]
City abuzz as Pfizer eyes up Astrazeneca April 22, 2014 BRITISH investors get their first chance this morning to react to the prospect of a pharmaceuticals mega-merger that could amount to the largest ever foreign takeover of a UK company. In New York last night, American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) in AstraZeneca closed up 8.8 per cent as traders reacted to interest in the British drugs [...]
AstraZeneca to build disease research centre in Cambridge March 31, 2014 DRUGS giant AstraZeneca and the Medical Research Council will today announced that they are building a new research and development centre in Cambridge, to better understand a range of human diseases. The centre will be located within the new AstraZeneca site at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, due to be completed in 2016. Under the collaboration, [...]
AstraZeneca pays a bumper bonus and bolsters its board March 20, 2014 ASTRAZENECA boss Pascal Soriot was awarded a bumper bonus for 2013, equivalent to 94 per cent of the maximum the pharmaceuticals giant could have paid its CEO. The company’s annual report, published yesterday, cited several acquisitions that have bolstered its pipeline. Despite declining sales and profits, Soriot received a £1.87m bonus for 2013, taking his [...]
AstraZeneca’s shares slide due to lost patents February 6, 2014 ASTRAZENECA’S share price dropped almost two per cent yesterday, after the pharmaceuticals giant warned of a decline in revenues this year. The FTSE 100-quoted firm said that 2013’s six per cent fall in revenue to $25.7bn (£15.8bn) was in line with expectations, reflecting the continuing impact of loss of exclusivity on several brands. New heart [...]
AstraZeneca’s shares lifted by pipeline hopes January 14, 2014 ASTRAZENECA expects new drugs and a recent diabetes deal to offset a wave of patent expiries and return it to growth faster than analysts predict, with 2017 revenue likely to be broadly in line with the 2013 level. The company’s forecast implies a potential $3bn upgrade to the consensus estimate from analysts and marks an [...]
AstraZeneca in biotech deal to boost pipeline January 8, 2014 ASTRAZENECA has signed a deal with private British biotech company Immunocore to boost its experimental cancer drug pipeline as it seeks to find new medicines to replace those going off patent. Immunocore is developing drugs known as ImmTACs that exploit the power of the body’s own immune system to find and kill diseased cells. AstraZeneca [...]