Six U.S. senators have asked antitrust regulators to take a hard look at Pfizer Inc's plan to purchase rival AstraZeneca PLC if the two companies are able to reach a deal, saying they had "significant concerns" about the proposed transaction's effect on consumers.AstraZeneca, formed in 1999 from the merger of Sweden's Astra and Britain's Zeneca, has rejected a $106 billion offer from U.S. drugmaker Pfizer, but Pfizer has not given up and a possible deal has raised concerns in both countries about the effect on research and jobs."Should a merger or acquisition ultimately be accepted by AstraZeneca, whether under the terms of that offer or any subsequent offer, we want to bring to your attention our significant concerns with the potentially harmful impact to consumers that would result," the senators said in a letter.The lawmakers, all Democrats, criticized Pfizer for saying it wanted to merge with AstraZeneca to create a UK holding company with a UK tax domicile, while maintaining its operational headquarters in New York.
AstraZeneca PLC (AstraZeneca) is a global biopharmaceutical company. Shares of AZN fell by 0.09% or $-0.07/share to $78.29. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $46.87 and as high as $82.68. On average, 4030250 shares of AZN exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 5488102.
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