Dive Brief:
- The May 26 deadline for Pfizer to buy AstraZeneca for $119 billion has come and gone.
- Pfizer maintains that its offer was “compelling” and fair based on all available information.
- AstraZeneca has expressed its pleasure with the outcome and its desire to remain independent as a company.
Dive Insight:
The last couple of weeks have been heated as shareholders, trade unions and private citizens in the United Kingdom have weighed in on Pfizer’s $119 billion takeover offer for AstraZeneca. The deadline to seal the deal was Monday. When it was clear that AstraZeneca would not be accepting the offer, Pfizer confirmed that it did not intend to formalize the offer and restated its intention not to attempt a hostile takeover.
In addition to supporting AstraZeneca’s firm desire to remain independent and focus on developing its pipeline, detractors criticized the offer as not good for the security of workers, nor good for the advancement of science. Shareholders had mixed views, with many expressing the desire for AstraZeneca to remain independent and others suggesting that it might be good to take the offer. Under Takeover Panel rules, talks can be restarted within three months if they are initiated by AstraZeneca.