AstraZeneca: shares drop on rumours of merger with Gilead
(CercleFinance.com) - Shares in British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca dropped by over 2% on Monday amid rumours of a possible merger with smaller peer Gilead Sciences.
AstraZeneca shares were down 2.2% in early morning trading, underperforming London's FTSE 100 index, which was down 0.6%.
According to Bloomberg, which quotes people familiar with the matter, AstraZeneca has made a preliminary approach to Gilead Sciences, which specialises in antiviral drugs, regarding a potential merger.
"A merger would lead to a group with a market cap of almost 240 billion dollars, i.e. more than Merck or Pfizer," commented Parisian broker Invest Securities.
AstraZeneca has a market cap of around 140 billion dollars, while Gilead is currently worth almost 100 billion dollars.
"While AstraZeneca may be interested in diversifying outside oncology, in the antiviral segment, Gilead seems to prefer to focus on its strategy of partnerships and small acquisitions," Invest Securities noted.
Both companies did not comment on the market rumours.
Copyright (c) 2020 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.
AstraZeneca shares were down 2.2% in early morning trading, underperforming London's FTSE 100 index, which was down 0.6%.
According to Bloomberg, which quotes people familiar with the matter, AstraZeneca has made a preliminary approach to Gilead Sciences, which specialises in antiviral drugs, regarding a potential merger.
"A merger would lead to a group with a market cap of almost 240 billion dollars, i.e. more than Merck or Pfizer," commented Parisian broker Invest Securities.
AstraZeneca has a market cap of around 140 billion dollars, while Gilead is currently worth almost 100 billion dollars.
"While AstraZeneca may be interested in diversifying outside oncology, in the antiviral segment, Gilead seems to prefer to focus on its strategy of partnerships and small acquisitions," Invest Securities noted.
Both companies did not comment on the market rumours.
Copyright (c) 2020 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.