Pfizer Inc.’s share price down, confesses the pursuit of AstraZeneca was unsuccessful, drops attempts for takeover

Pfizer Inc. confessed that its attempt to reach for AstraZenecas approval of its offer was unsuccessful. After the offer deadline expired yesterday, the company preferred to put an end to its six-month effort to by its U.K. rival. The acquisition battle, which lasted more than a month, raised a number of questions and provoked political controversy on both sides of the Atlantic but was proved to be doomed to failure.

The companys Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Ian Read said in the official statement, which was cited by the Financial Times: “We continue to believe that our final proposal was compelling and represented full value for AstraZeneca based on the information that was available to us.” As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Read also said in an interview: “We are now moving on. We have no idea whether wed be interested in AstraZeneca at any point in the future.”

Pfizer Inc. officially abandoned its pursuit of purchasing AstraZeneca Plc in a deal that was estimated to almost 120 billion dollars and if successful would have formed the largest drug manufacturer in the world. The repercussions of the American companys fruitless efforts to set foot in the U.K. leave both parties deal with ageing pipelines and market pressures all by themselves.

Still, the fate of the negotiations is not crystal clear yet. It is true that the takeover law in the U.K. forbids Pfizer to make a new bid over the next half a year, but the talks could be renewed on AstraZenecas initiative after three months.

The Chairman of AstraZeneca – Mr. Leif Johansson also commented on the fact that Pfizer Inc. dropped its pursuit of the company, saying in a written statement, which was cited by the Wall Street Journal: “We welcome the opportunity to continue building on the momentum we have already demonstrated as an independent company.”

Pfizer Inc. was 0.57% down to close at 29.49 dollars per share yesterday, marking a one-year change of +1.55%. According to the information published on CNN Money, the 14 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Pfizer Inc. have a median target of 34.00, with a high estimate of 41.00 and a low estimate of 29.00. The median estimate represents a +15.29% increase from the last price of 29.49.