Extra, Extra, Extra...: Novartis va, de nuevo, por AstraZéneca? (cont.)

Mientras la votación británica para dejar la Unión Europea hace estragos en la economía, el impulso de las transacciones en la industria farmacéutica del país no da señales de frenarse. 

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Brexit en PHARMACOSERÍAS

Las adquisiciones en el sector británico de la salud aumentaron un 21 por ciento este año mientras que el total de fusiones y adquisiciones cayó un 43 por ciento en el Reino Unido y 16 por ciento en todo el mundo, de acuerdo con los datos que reunió Bloomberg. 

La industria, que fue una de las que más aportó al récord del año pasado de US$3,6 billones de fusiones y adquisiciones mundiales, se ve impulsada en parte por una libra más débil, que hace que los activos británicos sean más atractivos, y por la necesidad vital de mantener los catálogos de productos abastecidos de tratamientos nuevos que den ganancias.(Más)

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Mergers and acquisition continue after Brexit

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This time speculation has moved to the idea of a possible offer from Swiss-based Novartis, which would increase its cancer drug operations significantly by acquiring its smaller British rival. It could also lead to cost savings. 

The comments by AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot encouraged talk of another mega-deal in the pharmaceuticals sector, after a run of deal-making by companies seeking promising new medicines. This helped to send AstraZeneca shares to a record high on Thursday, breaching the 50 pound mark for the first time.

Citi analyst Andrew Baum suggested in a note this week that AstraZeneca's biotech expertise and advanced immunotherapy cancer pipeline made it an attractive target for Basel-based Novartis. 

AstraZeneca has a current market value of just over $80 billion, while Novartis is worth around $215 billion.. (Más)

AstraZeneca shares are getting a boost from speculation the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker might be taken over by Swiss rival Novartis. If the company does get an approach, it would be far harder to rebuff than Pfizer's failed advances of 2014.

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Pfizer y AstraZeneca: Son rumores? (y de otros mergers...)

Astra's attraction is its pipeline of potential future medicines. Tactically, it would make sense for a bidder to secure a deal now ahead of a raft of regulatory and clinical news due in the next 12 months.

At first sight, that timing seems odd. But if a buyer really believes there is value in Astra, it would be wise to bid while shareholders are still uncertain. And if evidence were to emerge proving the quality of that pipeline, enough merger arb funds should have built a stake in the company to ram any deal through. Similar dynamics kept AB InBev's bid for brewer SABMiller on track even after Brexit. (Más)

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Extra, Extra, Extra...: Novartis va, de nuevo, por AstraZéneca?