According to people familiar with the process, Pfizer Inc. is considering to increase its offer for AstraZeneca Plc for a second time. Two of the people, who asked not to be named because the information is still not public, reported that the new Pfizers bid would raise the value of the deal modestly above the current offer that amounts to 50 pounds (about 84 dollars) per share. The company was also said to be waiting for the hearings in front of the UK government before doing so.
The previous offer of Pfizer Inc. was rejected by AstraZeneca, which explained that the bid “substantially undervalued” the company.
The case related to the AstraZeneca deal was sent yesterday to two parliamentary committees in the U.K., and the hearings are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. The Chief Executive Officers of Pfizer and AstraZeneca – Mr. Ian Read and Mr. Pascal Soriot are expected to be interrogated by two parliamentary committees, because the countrys government is looking for guarantees that Pfizer intends to keep the jobs of its partner in the U.K.
The company, however, refused to make any guarantees that it intends to protect the employees of AstraZeneca in Maryland and Delaware, saying that it its “premature” to foresee the influence of its offer on jobs at this early stage of negotiations. AstraZeneca Plc currently has about 5000 people working in the two states.
As reported by the Financial Times, on Monday the companys Chief Executive Officer Mr. Read sent a letter to the Maryland and Delaware governors, claiming that Pfizer Inc, intends to continue its “research, operational and manufacturing” activity on its home market, with a “significant number of employees”.
Pfizer has promised to keep one-fifth of the combined jobs in research and development division in the U.K. The company has also engaged itself with inviting at least two of the other partys current directors to become part of a combined board after the eventual takeover is finalized. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, at the time of the offer it has also sent an open letter to the Prime Minister of the U.K. – Mr. David Cameron – explaining that it intends to make commitments for at least five years, “recognizing our ability, consistent with our fiduciary duties, to adjust these obligations should circumstances significantly change”.
The official representatives of both companies refused to make any comments.
Pfizer Inc. was 0.34% up to close at 29.13 dollars per share yesterday, marking a one-year change of +1.43%. According to the information published on CNN Money, the 14 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Pfizer Inc. have a median target of 34.50, with a high estimate of 41.00 and a low estimate of 29.00. The median estimate represents a +18.43% increase from the last price of 29.13.
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