DF Health Servant prepares dose of AstraZeneca vaccine to be administered at the Plano Piloto Bus Station Sandro Araújo/ Agência Saúde The British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca and its American rival Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) began discussions about a possible merger that would result in one of the largest companies in the sector, with a value of almost 400 billion dollars (2 trillion reais), according to the Financial Times. The news caused a drop of almost 7% in AstraZeneca shares shortly after the opening of the London Stock Exchange this Monday (3). The two groups "have held discussions about a merger in recent months, according to people familiar with the matter," the business newspaper reported. According to the sources, "negotiations could result in an agreement in the near future, but they could also be delayed or fail," the FT added.
Pharmaceutical industry giants, AstraZeneca and BMS consider R$2 trillion merger
DF Health Servant prepares dose of AstraZeneca vaccine to be administered at the Plano Piloto Bus Station Sandro Araújo/ Agência Saúde The British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca and its American rival Bristol Myers...
AstraZeneca is valued at approximately 196 billion pounds on the London Stock Exchange, according to values prior to the opening of Monday's session, which is equivalent to 264 billion dollars (1.34 trillion reais). In turn, BMS has a valuation on the Stock Exchange of 133 billion dollars (675 billion reais). AstraZeneca last week reported a net profit up more than 2% in the second quarter, to 2.5 billion dollars (12.6 billion reais), with good sales of its cancer treatments. The British company, which expects the United States to represent half of its revenues by 2030, last year announced an investment plan of 50 billion dollars (253 billion reais) in the country to meet this objective. As another sign of its rapprochement with the United States, the laboratory has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since February 2, although London remains its main market. In turn, BMS reported last week a net profit that doubled in the second quarter, to 3.3 billion dollars (16.7 billion reais), driven especially by its medicines against cancer (Opdivo Qvantig), anemia (Reblozyl) and cardiovascular diseases (Camzyos).
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