British drugs company AztraZeneca has rejected a “final” takeover offer from US pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer.
AstraZeneca Chairman Leif Johansson said: “Pfizer has failed to make a compelling strategic, business or value case.”
The rebuff came just hours after Pfizer raised its offer. The sweetened deal valued the UK firm at around £70 billion pounds (approximately 51 billion euros).
Pfizer had planned to create the world’s largest drugs company through the deal. It had planned to headquarter the merged firm in the US, but, controversially, with a tax base in the UK.
Erik Gordon, Professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, opined on the deal: “It died of multiple wounds. Too little cash, too many suspicions about Pfizer’s motives, and too little confidence in its assurances about jobs.”
AztraZeneca’s shares tumbled 13 percent in late morning trade as prospects of a takeover ebbed away.