8th Jun 2020 05:02
(Alliance News) - Industry sources played down claims that Covid vaccine maker AstraZeneca PLC could make a swoop for US rival Gilead Sciences Inc, the Daily Telegraph reported on Sunday.
Over the weekend, Bloomberg reported that AstraZeneca had approached Gilead over a near GBP200 billion blockbuster merger that would be the biggest pharmaceutical merger on record.
However, according to the Telegraph, a tie-up is unlikely citing sources that argued that AstraZeneca would not be chasing down a merger at a time when it is racing to create a vaccine against Covid-19. Spokesmen for AstraZeneca and Gilead declined to comment, the article said.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/06/07/astrazeneca-gilead-mega-deal-downplayed-sources/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-07/astrazeneca-is-said-to-approach-gilead-about-potential-merger
AstraZeneca shares ended down 1.2% at 8,427.00 pence on Friday in London, valuing the company at GBP111 billion. Gilead shares closed down 1.0% at USD76.79 in New York on Friday, giving the company a market capitalisation of USD96.3 billion.
By Arvind Bhunjun; [email protected]
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