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news.British drug-maker AstraZeneca has rejected an improved £69bn 'final' takeover proposal from US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer to combine the two companies.
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This is the fourth proposal Pfizer has made and it believes that the final proposal provides a clear basis for AstraZeneca to extend the period for making a firm offer under the Code and to meaningfully engage with Pfizer.
The new proposal makes a substantial increase of about 15% over the current value of Pfizer’s 02 May proposal.
Under the terms of the final deal, AstraZeneca shareholders would receive £24.76 in cash and 1.747 shares in the combined entity, worth a combined £55, for each share currently they hold.
Pfizer had said that its improved proposal of £55 per share is final and will not be increased.
The deal will see Pfizer and AstraZeneca shareholders own about 74% and 26%, respectively, of the combined firm.
Pfizer chairman and CEO Ian Read said the company believes that its proposal is compelling for AstraZeneca’s shareholders and that a Pfizer-AstraZeneca combination is in the best interests of all stakeholders.
"We are excited at the opportunity to create a scientific powerhouse, delivering great benefits to patients and science in the UK and across the globe," Read said.
"We stand by our unprecedented commitments to the UK Government. We believe that the benefits to all stakeholders can only be maximised through cooperative engagement between both companies.
"We have tried repeatedly to engage in a constructive process with AstraZeneca to explore a combination of our two companies."
Read continued, "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. We have said from the beginning that we will remain disciplined in the price we are willing to pay and we will not depart from that guiding principle.
"We believe that our proposal represents compelling and full value for AstraZeneca and that other issues that have been raised by AstraZeneca do not represent material difficulties."
Image: Pfizer world headquarters. Photo: courtesy of Jim.henderson.