AstraZeneca looking at ways of boosting shareholder value

17th Jun 2014 08:14

Drugs giant AstraZeneca is on the lookout for new potential acquisitions and partnerships in an effort to improve shareholder value, according to reports.Following the company's rejection of Pfizer's bid last month, Chief Executive Pascal Soriot is said to have sought advice from investment bank Centerview Partners. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which cited sources familiar with the matter, the group is considering a range of options, which includes joint ventures and transactions, in an effort to create the most value from its cancer assets through speedier commercialisation. "We will be able to market these products ourselves, but for sure if we could find a partnership that would create value we would do that," Soriot was quoted as saying. "It would have to be either a strong commercial player or it would have to be a smaller company with a commercial presence and a pipeline". However, he also acknowledged that its core business was "not something we will partner too easily". In relation to the approach from Pfizer, Soriot told the WSJ that he had feared its drug development programme would have suffered from the "forceful" nature of the bid. A future deal was not out of the question though, revealing the board would "take the same approach in terms of considering the value of the company, in terms of understanding the risk attached to the integration". NR