Pfizer, Inc. (PFE) Said to Recently Hold Talks to Acquire AstraZeneca (AZN)

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) shares are active in early trading Monday following news over the weekend that the company may have been in talks to acquire AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN).

The Sunday Times said discussions between the two pharma giants are over and there are no current plans to resume. Pfizer's approach valued AstraZeneca around 60 billion (about $101 billion).

Pfizer acquiring AstraZeneca would bolster the company's early-stage cancer treatment pipeline. AstraZeneca entered into an agreement last January with Immunocore Ltd. to develop cancer treatment which use the body's own immune cells.

While the deal would be the biggest in the industry since Pfizer's $87 billion acquisition of Warner-Lambert in 2000, there's plenty of overseas cash in Pfizer's coffers. Last check has the company with about $69 billion of cash outside the U.S. Pfizer might also be able to move its domicile to the U.S. via an inversion transaction, a move that has helped to save plenty of other pharmaceuticals tax money.

Shares of Pfizer are up about 0.1 percent.

You May Also Be Interested In

• IBM (IBM) to Acquire HashiCorp (HCP) for $35/sh Cash or $6.4B
• Fed to extend through May 31, 2024, the public comment period for the application by Capital One Financial (COF) to acquire Discover Financial Services (DFS)
• European Commission Approves Pfizer’s EMBLAVEO® for Patients with Multidrug-Resistant Infections and Limited Treatment Options