FT: AstraZeneca Will Reject Latest Pfizer Offer, And The American Drug Giant Will Stand Down

REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

UK drugmaker AstraZeneca is preparing to reject Pfizer's latest $117 billion offer for the firm, the FT's Ed Hammond, Andrew Ward and Arash Massoudi report.

This is likely to end the American giant's takeover bid, they write, as Pfizer said it would walk away of this offer did not go through. FT:

The [$92.53-per-share] bid, upped from [$84] two weeks ago, was viewed by key members of AstraZeneca's management team and its board of directors as falling short of properly valuing the company, according to people familiar with the matter.

The two companies have discussed the deal in recent days. During those talks AstraZeneca executives also felt that Pfizer failed to give assurances on other key terms of a deal, including commitments to the UK group's research and development programmes

AstraZeneca closed Friday at $80.28.

Click here to read the full story on FT.com »