US giant Pfizer has made an improved offer to buy AstraZeneca, the UK's second largest pharmaceuticals company, raising its bid to £50 a share.
The revised deal - financed by a combination of cash and shares - represents a 32% premium to AstraZeneca's share price prior to the initial takeover announcement last month. It is also a 22% premium to AstraZeneca's all time high closing price (prior to 17 April 2014) of £41.03 since the company formed in 1999. Ian Read, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, said: "We have seen significant positive market reaction to the announcement we made on April 28, including from the shareholders of both our companies. "The consistent message we have heard reinforces our belief that there is a highly ...
To continue reading this article...
Join Investment Week for free
Signup and gain exclusive members-only insights - all free of charge!
- Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
- Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
- Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
- Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
- Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes
