David Cameron has told Pfizer he wants stronger assurances of its commitment to UK science as he left open the option of extending government powers to intervene in the US drugmaker’s £63bn takeover approach for AstraZeneca.
In a hardening of Downing Street’s attitude towards the deal, the prime minister indicated Pfizer needed to do more to win the government’s blessing.
The US drug company has promised to keep 20 per cent of the companies’ combined research and development workforce in the UK for at least five years following a takeover, but critics have questioned whether the commitment is firm enough.
“Let me be absolutely clear, I am not satisfied. I want more,” Mr Cameron told parliament yesterday, after Labour claimed he was acting as a “cheerleader” for Pfizer. The prime minister also said he agreed with Vince Cable, business secretary, who said it would be possible to subject the proposed deal to a “public interest test”.
Government officials said this would be an extreme option and that ministers were focused on securing stronger guarantees from Pfizer. One idea floated by George Freeman, the former life sciences adviser to the prime minister, is to draw up a binding 10-year research agreement between ministers and Pfizer.
Pfizer declined to comment.
Ian Read, Pfizer’s chief executive, and his AstraZeneca counterpart, Pascal Soriot, are due to be quizzed by MPs next week.
Mr Soriot and other top AstraZeneca executives yesterday held meetings with big shareholders to press the case for resisting Pfizer’s advances.
One top 20 shareholder said the management had “set out clearly” why the company had refused to enter talks over Pfizer’s informal £50-per-share offer and predicted the US company would return with a higher offer. “I would agree that the bid needs to be at least £55, but probably a bit more. Fifty pounds is not a serious final offer,” the investor said
Meanwhile, Downing Street faced questions after it emerged that two of Mr Cameron’s advisers – Mark Textor and Gabby Bertin – had previously been paid by Pfizer. When asked if either had lobbied on behalf of the company, Downing Street said: “There’s nothing whatsoever in it.” (FT)
