The paper said, citing senior investment bankers and industry sources, that informal conversations about a deal had taken place between the two firms but that no talks were currently under way after AstraZeneca resisted the approach.
AstraZeneca is Britain's second-biggest pharmaceuticals group with a current market valuation of around $80 billion, compared with Pfizer, which is valued at $193 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Earnings at AstraZeneca fell 6% in the fourth quarter of 2013, and the drugmaker has said it expects them to keep falling in 2014 as generic competition to Nexium, its popular heartburn and ulcer drug, takes a big bite out of US profits from late May.AstraZeneca has suffered a dry period in drug discovery in recent years and badly needs to find new medicines to replace blockbusters such as Nexium and Crestor, a treatment for high cholesterol that will lose patent protection in a few years.
Pfizer is facing similar issues with patent expirations on top-selling drugs such as Viagra and anti-cholesterol treatment Lipitor.
Pfizer's last big acquisition was in 2009, when it bought US rival Wyeth for $68 billion.
Officials at neither AstraZeneca nor Pfizer could immediately be reached for comment.
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