AstraZeneca holds talks with Bristol Myers Squibb on $400bn merger
📰 source: theguardian_business · 💼 business
astrazeneca is in talks to take over bristol myers squibb in a deal that would create a near-$400bn pharmaceutical group, the biggest-ever pharma merger. the news hit astrazeneca's london shares hard, down 7% to £116.46, while bms shares rose 3.5% in pre-market trading in new york.
the companies have overlapping cancer drug portfolios, and analysts immediately questioned the logic. jefferies said it's not clear why, and regulatory hurdles loom. ig's chris beauchamp noted bms has struggled since 2023, and some astra shareholders will wonder at the need for expensive m&a. bloomberg intelligence's john murphy called it limited strategic sense because growth outlooks differ: astra sees double-digit earnings gains through 2030, bms faces patent expiries.
astrazeneca, run by pascal soriot, is the uk's second-biggest listed company at £196bn; bms is worth $133bn. the deal would create the world's fourth-largest drugmaker. astra is already investing $50bn in us research and manufacturing and listed on the nyse in june, raising fears of a shift away from the uk. talks have been held but no certainty. astra declined to comment.
why it matters: potential $400bn pharma mega-merger faces regulatory and strategic hurdles, with astra shares sliding on deal skepticism.
source: theguardian_business
sentiment: +0.20 · impact: 0.90