AstraZeneca shares up as “spurious” takeover rumours circulate

AstraZeneca shares have broken the 30 pound barrier as speculation renewed about a possible takeover for the UK’s second-largest pharmaceutical company.

GlaxoSmithKline has been touted by several sources as one possible buyer for AstraZeneca, although for the UK’s two largest pharmaceutical companies to merge, anti-monopoly regulations would have to be tackled and the cost to Glaxo would be enormous. The Guardian suggests that Novartis may also be another possible interested party.

However, some analysts said they were wary of such speculation as AstraZeneca rumours had circulated before without any substance. Navid Malik, an analyst for Collins Stewart, told Dow Jones Newswires that AstraZeneca is one type of FTSE 100 company that will always be prone to speculation, saying that any potential buyer would have to “pay dearly” for the company.

One dealer told Reuters: “Bid talk is doing the rounds again. I think maybe it’s related to the fact that Bayer and Merck are fighting over Schering. I’d say it’s a spurious rumour at this time.”

AstraZeneca has not commented on any speculation. Last week, its chief executive, David Brennan, revealed a new strategy to strengthen the company’s product pipeline, which currently has only five products in phase III clinical development. He said new measures would be taken to speed up the time it takes to develop drugs.

Last month, AstraZeneca completed the acquisition of Cambridge Antibody Technology, a monoclonal antibody research company, in order to improve its research and development portfolio.

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