AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb have no ongoing discussions about a potential merger, according to a senior source close to the matter cited by Reuters.
“There is no deal between AstraZeneca and BMS. There never was a deal to be done, and there are no discussions between the companies,” the source told Reuters.
The denial follows a report published by the Financial Times suggesting that the two pharmaceutical giants were in active talks to combine their businesses.
Had the merger proceeded, it would have created a pharmaceutical powerhouse valued at nearly $400 billion, making it one of the largest deals in the industry’s history.
The initial report triggered significant investor concern on AstraZeneca’s side, with the British drugmaker’s London-listed shares falling almost 9% in the immediate aftermath of the Financial Times story.
AstraZeneca shares recovered some of that lost ground on Wednesday, rebounding approximately 3% after Reuters published its report confirming no talks were underway.
Bristol Myers Squibb also felt the market’s reaction, with its shares falling around 3% on Wednesday morning as investors digested the conflicting reports.
The episode highlights how sensitive large-cap pharmaceutical stocks remain to merger speculation, particularly when the sums involved reach into the hundreds of billions of dollars.
One previously published commentary had suggested that a merger of this scale would put the two firms’ R&D organisations in “turmoil for at least 18 months.”
AstraZeneca has established itself as one of Europe’s most valuable listed companies in recent years, making any news of a transformative deal likely to draw immediate and intense scrutiny from shareholders and analysts alike.
The swift rebound in AstraZeneca’s share price following the Reuters denial suggests investors were broadly relieved that the proposed combination, which would have represented a significant strategic gamble, does not appear to be moving forward.