AstraZeneca and US pharmaceutical competitor Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) have reportedly held preliminary discussions regarding a potential combination that could create one of the world’s largest drugmakers with a valuation approaching $400 billion.
Reports first published by the Financial Times and confirmed by Reuters, indicate that the two pharmaceutical giants have held talks in recent months.
While discussions could yield a deal in the near future, sources quoted cautioned that talks remain fluid and could stall or fall apart.
AstraZeneca, the UK’s second most valuable listed company, has a market value of about £196bn ($264bn), while BMS is worth roughly $133bn.
AstraZeneca’s London-listed shares fell sharply by nearly 7% on Monday morning (3), leading declines on the FTSE 100 index, as investors and market analysts reacted coolly to the prospect of a mega-merger. Meanwhile, shares in BMS rose 6.4% in pre-market trading in New York.
If it went ahead, the deal would rank among the biggest pharmaceutical deals of all time, propelling the combined entity to become the world’s fourth-largest drugmaker by market capitalisation.
