Britain’s AstraZeneca has approached U.S. rival Gilead Sciences about a possible merger to form one the world’s largest drug companies, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Such a deal would unite two of the drugmakers at the forefront of the industry’s efforts to fight the new coronavirus and could be politically sensitive as governments seek control over potential vaccines or treatments.
AstraZeneca contacted Gilead last month, but its U.S. rival was not interested in combining with another big pharmaceuticals company, the Bloomberg report said.
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A spokeswoman for AstraZeneca said the company does not comment on rumours or speculation.
Gilead, the world’s largest maker of HIV drugs, declined to comment on the report.
If combined, the two companies would have a market capitalization of about $232 billion, based on Friday’s closing share prices.
That would exceed Merck & Co and Pfizer at $207 billion and $200 billion respectively.
Two sources familiar with AstraZeneca’s thinking questioned the rationale of a tie-up, telling Reuters that Gilead’s remdesivir drug for COVID-19 patients was insufficient to justify pursuing a multibillion-dollar deal that would detract from AstraZeneca’s work on a coronavirus vaccine.
One of the sources questioned the timing. Given the potential impact a successful vaccine would have on AstraZeneca’s share price, it does not need the additional strain of pursuing a record-breaking deal, especially when travel constraints make face-to-face meetings difficult.
While Gilead may look cheap with its price-to-earnings ratio of 12 times and AstraZeneca may be attracted by the potential cost-cutting and decent free cash flow, Jefferies analysts said they do not view a deal as likely.
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“We think Gilead believes its HIV business is very underappreciated,” they said in a note, adding that the company “would prefer to build value over time and do its own tuck-in deals.”
RECORD HIGHS
Gilead’s biggest blockbuster drug is HIV drug Biktarvy, with sales of $1.69 billion in the first quarter.
AstraZeneca’s top-selling product is its lung cancer drug Tagrisso, which generated first-quarter revenue of $982 million.
Both companies’ shares have jumped this year as the health care sector has drawn fresh investor interest as drugmakers race to develop treatments and vaccines to counter the pandemic.
AstraZeneca’s shares hit record highs in late April while Gilead’s stock is up 20% since the start of the year.
Gilead, AstraZeneca and other drugmakers, including Eli Lilly and Co, Pfizer and Merck & Co, are racing to develop vaccines or treatments for COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
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More than 6.9 million people have been reported infected with the coronavirus globally and 399,025 have died, a Reuters tally showed on Sunday.
It is unclear whether a vaccine will work, but AstraZeneca’s partnership with Oxford University to develop one is among a handful of initiatives U.S. President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 task force has backed.
Gilead has also been in the vanguard of COVID-19 treatments.
Its remdesivir antiviral is the first drug to lead to improvement in COVID-19 patients in formal clinical trials.
The drug has been cleared for emergency use in COVID-19 patients in countries including the United States and South Korea and could bring in more than $7 billion in annual sales for by 2022 if governments seek to stockpile it against future outbreaks, SVB Leerink has estimated.
An AstraZeneca-Gilead deal would not be the first big pharma takeover in the past year. U.S. drugmaker Bristol Myers Squibb completed its $74 billion acquisition of Celgene in November and AbbVie is buying Botox maker Allergan in a $63 billion deal.
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TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
