Pfizer Inc. said it has made its final offer for AstraZeneca Plc in its attempt to speed up the talks over the eventual acquisition that is the largest one so far for a foreign takeover of a UK company. The US companys bid amounted to 69.4 billion pounds (117 billion dollars).
According to the information revealed by the company, its new bid was 55 pounds per share (92.48 dollars). However, Pfizers Chief Executive Officer Mr. Read said he will not accept the deal, saying the bid was too low.
Pfizer made a statement, revealing that it did not expect its offer to be accepted by AstraZeneca. The company also explained that it intended the current bid to be the last one for now. Mr. Ian Read said in a statement, which was cited by Bloomberg: “We have tried repeatedly to engage in a constructive process with AstraZeneca. Following a conversation with AstraZeneca earlier today, we do not believe that the AstraZeneca board is currently prepared to recommend a deal at a reasonable price. We remain ready to engage in a meaningful dialogue but time for constructive engagement is running out.”
An eventual acquisition is considered beneficial for the US company that is to get lower tax rate after moving its headquarters to the U.K. and would also add new drugs to its portfolio. It would form the largest drug manufacturer by sales in the world.
People with knowledge of the matter, also reported that AstraZeneca was likely to reject the other partys bid because of its management team and board of directors belief that the offer underestimates the actual value of the company.
According to the statement of Mr. Ian Read, who is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer, the deadline for AstraZeneca to decide whether to accept or reject the bid is May 26th.
Pfizer Inc. was 0.21% up to close at 29.12 dollars per share yesterday, marking a one-year change of -0.44%. According to the information published on CNN Money, the 14 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Pfizer Inc. have a median target of 34.00, with a high estimate of 41.00 and a low estimate of 29.00. The median estimate represents a +16.76% increase from the last price of 29.12.
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