AstraZeneca safe (for now?) as Pfizer walks away from pursuit of the firm

US pharma giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), which has been involved in a controversial pursuit of UK-based AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN), has walked away from the deal, following three rejections, that last one being of a £55 a share bid, valuing the Anglo-Swedish drug major at around £69 billion ($118 billion).

This month Pfizer announced that it had made a final proposal to AstraZeneca to make an offer to combine the two companies. Following the AstraZeneca board's rejection of the proposal, Pfizer now says that it does not intend to make an offer for AstraZeneca. May 26 was the final day that Pfizer had to either table a formal bid or go hostile, both actions that the company has previously said it would not follow.

AstraZeneca could have gone back to its suitor, and has been under a certain amount of pressure to do so from major shareholders (though many supported the firm’s rejection of the offer as undervaluing the company). The stock has fallen more than 10% to £43.28 since talks collapsed.