Dive Brief:
- Pfizer’s $120 billion bid for AstraZeneca failed, but analysts from Berenberg Bank speculate that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) may be an ideal acquisition target for Pfizer.
- The analysts note that the two companies are already collaborating on the development of HIV drugs through ViiV.
- One reason GSK is seen as a potential target is because of its recent credit downgrade by rating agency Moody's.
Dive Insight:
Although Pfizer is now in the throes of a six-month "cooling off" period after its failed bid for AstraZeneca, analysts speculate that a merger could be attractive to Pfizer for various reasons, including lower tax rates in England -- another example of the increasingly popular tax-inversion mergers -- operational synergies and GSK’s current relative weakness.
According to analysts, the bid would need to be at least $164 billion, with $74 billion in cash. Analysts say that the offer could come as early as August 26 -- but at this point, that is just speculation.