A potential plan to make the already huge Princeton-based Bristol Myers Squibb part of
one of the biggest drugmakers in the globe – a company potentially valued at $400
billion – was not welcomed by investors Monday.
Investors, in fact sent AstraZeneca shares sharply lower Monday following reports that
the British pharmaceutical giant was in talks to merge with BMS.
AstraZeneca shares closed down about 9% Monday, their biggest one-day drop since
2020, as investors and analysts questioned why Britain’s largest drugmaker would need a transformative acquisition despite potential cost benefits.
BMS has been headquartered in Princeton for decades and is among the largest
employers in the pharmaceutical sector in New Jersey. Its share were down about 1%.
A deal, if confirmed, would create the world’s fourth-largest drugmaker by market value and the largest by revenue — one of the biggest pharmaceutical mergers ever,
combining a top European drugmaker with a major U.S. rival based in New Jersey.
A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers had
held talks, confirming an earlier Financial Times report. As of Friday, the two companies
had a combined market capitalization of nearly $400 billion, with AstraZeneca valued at
$264 billion and Bristol Myers at $133 billion.
