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US/UK: $119B still not good enough for AstraZeneca

By  |  May 19, 2014

US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has offered what it said would be its bid to acquire UK rival AstraZeneca, but its $119 billion proposal was turned down.

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    Reports say AstraZeneca rejected the bid just hours after it was introduced by Pfizer, despite Pfizer’s deadline for AstraZeneca to respond to the bid by May 26.

    In a statement, AstraZeneca described the latest offer as a “minor improvement” from the last, which was made for $106 billion.

    Despite the rejection, reports say Pfizer was not optimistic ahead of submitting its bid, and said it would not make a hostile takeover offer to AstraZeneca shareholders. In a statement, Pfizer CEO Ian Read said the company does not believe “that the AstraZeneca board is currently prepared to recommend a deal at a reasonable price.” The company added that it would remain open to further dialogue with the UK firm.

    The merger would have created the world’s largest pharmaceutical company.’’

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