AstraZeneca shares tumbled 7% in early trading on Monday following reports of talks between the European pharmaceutical giant and U.S.-based Bristol Myers Squibb, baffling investors and analysts.
Potential Combination
A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that the two held preliminary talks about a possible combination, potentially creating one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies with a combined value of nearly $400 billion.
Investors and analysts questioned the strategic logic of the possible tie-up, saying Britain’s biggest drugmaker had little obvious need for a transformative acquisition despite potential financial benefits.
As of Friday, AstraZeneca had a market capitalization of $264.11 billion while Bristol Myers was valued at $133.41 billion.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
