US manufacturing giant Pfizer has made its second attempt in four months to discuss a potential takeover of UK-based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, it announced yesterday (April 28).

Pfizer had contacted AstraZeneca on Saturday (April 26) to renew discussions about a "merger transaction" between the two companies, after its initial offer of cash and shares was turned down in January, it said.

But AstraZeneca had again declined to engage in talks and Pfizer was now "considering its options", it said.

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	Pfizer said it believed the deal, which would involve offering a "substantial" cash payment as part of paying a "significant premium" for each share, would be a "highly compelling opportunity" for AstraZeneca shareholders.

But the AstraZeneca board said it had not felt it was appropriate to engage in discussions with Pfizer, as the company had not made a "specific and attractive proposal". The board felt Pfizer had "significantly undervalued" their company and raised concerns about Pfizer relocating to the UK for tax purposes, it said.

In January, Pfizer offered to pay £46.61 ($76.62) for each AstraZeneca share, 30 per cent higher than their value at the time. But after "limited high-level discussions", AstraZeneca had decided not to pursue negotiations, Pfizer said.

If a new deal was successful then the companies could combined their complementary ranges of cardiovascular drugs, breast cancer treatments and non-insulin diabetes medicines, Pfizer said. The combined company would have management in both the US and the UK but its head offices would remain in New York and it would list its shares on the New York stock exchange, it added.

Pfizer chairman and chief executive officer Ian Read said a successful deal could benefit "patients all over the globe", as both companies' commitment to developing new drugs was critical to the success of the pharmaceutical industry.

"We have great respect for AstraZeneca and its proud heritage as an innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business with a rich science-based foundation in both the UK and Sweden," he said.

On Friday (April 25), manufacturers Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline announced they would swap parts of their businesses and combine their consumer healthcare divisions in a multi-billion-pound deal.

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