AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb Not in Merger Talks, No Deal Under Discussion: Report

AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb both declined to comment on emailed questions from Reuters.

AstraZeneca shares ​rose 2.9% on the Reuters report, ⁠while Bristol Myers ‌Squibb shares were down 2.6% at 1341 ​GMT.

After the ​deal talks were first reported by the ⁠Financial Times on Sunday, AstraZeneca shareholders questioned the strategic logic ​of such a tie-up for AstraZeneca, which has ​been one of the most successful companies in the sector under CEO Pascal Soriot's 14 years at the helm. AstraZeneca shares slid around 9% after the reports, the stock's biggest one-day drop since 2020, while Bristol Myers shares were little changed.

Reuters reported ‌on Sunday, citing a person familiar with the situation, that the two drugmakers had held preliminary talks about ​a possible ​deal that would ⁠create a pharmaceutical behemoth with a combined value of nearly $400 billion.

Another person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday that no talks between ​the companies were currently active. The person added that, given the size of the potential deal, Britain's market abuse rules would have required an announcement had negotiations been underway.