Pfizer warns UK government not to block £60bn AstraZeneca bid

Pfizer has thrown down a gauntlet to the British government by warning that it would be a mistake for ministers to block its £60 billion (€73 billion) takeover bid for AstraZeneca.

As the US drugmaker stepped up its pursuit of the UK company, Pfizer chairman and chief executive Ian Read said: "The UK faces a choice: do they focus on ensuring there is an educated workforce with the right incentives in place to attract investment, or do they pick winners and losers?"

The Pfizer chief flew into London yesterday with his top management in tow for talks with government ministers and AstraZeneca investors to convince them to support the biggest foreign takeover of a UK company.

Job fears
However, the deal has prompted fears over jobs and the UK's science base among some politicians. The company employs 7,000 people in the UK and supports thousands more jobs – many of them high-value – in an industry that the government sees as playing a key role in supporting balanced long-term economic growth.

British chancellor George Osborne welcomed Pfizer's proposed takeover as a big vote of confidence in Britain and its low corporate tax regime, but warned Mr Read last night that the takeover would come under scrutiny.

British business secretary Vince Cable is said to be especially sceptical about claims that the bid is motivated by a desire to bolster Britain's research and development base after Pfizer cut more than 1,500 jobs at its facility in the UK in 2011.

Both Mr Osborne and Mr Cable are insisting that the deal must preserve UK jobs and research.

'More British science'
"I want to see more British science," Mr Osborne said. "AstraZeneca have been doing a lot of that great science. Pfizer said encouraging things about the UK as a place to do business."

Ministers have limited legal powers to block a merger but there are “soft options” available if Pfizer were to embark on an asset-stripping exercise: the government provides extensive support to the sector through tax breaks and direct taxpayer funding.

Mr Read refused to issue any commitments over UK jobs and investment during his round of meetings in London, insisting that it was impossible to do so unless AstraZeneca agreed to sit down to discuss the deal. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2014)