AstraZeneca, the UK’s biggest pharmaceuticals company, has revealed plans to list its shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as well as the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stockholm – a move it said will help it to access the “broadest” pool of capital. However, the company said it will continue to have its headquarters in the UK.
The company said the plan for a harmonised share listing structure will see it upgrade its existing US equity listing through a direct listing of AstraZeneca ordinary shares on the NYSE, replacing the existing US listing of its American depositary receipts on Nasdaq.
Following the move, shareholders will be able to trade AstraZeneca ordinary shares across the London Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stockholm and NYSE.
The company's chair Michel Demaré said the proposed move will support the company’s long-term strategy for sustainable growth, while remaining headquartered in the UK. “Enabling a global listing structure will allow us to reach a broader mix of global investors and will make it even more attractive for all our shareholders to have the opportunity to participate in AstraZeneca’s exciting future,” he said.
AstraZeneca said its scientific and commercial achievements have been underpinned by its “continuous adaptation to a rapidly changing and dynamic industry environment, including diversifying its access paths” to capital markets. “The US has the world’s largest and most liquid public markets by capitalisation, and the largest pool of innovative biopharma companies and investors. The board is determined to ensure that the AstraZeneca Group has the flexibility to access the broadest available pool of capital, including in the US, which today’s announcement will make possible,” it said.
The new structure will not change AstraZeneca’s current status as a UK listed, headquartered and tax resident company which will continue to be included in the FTSE 100 index and the OMX Stockholm 30 index, it said.
However, the move will be seen as a blow to the UK market, even as pharma companies have been warning that it is increasingly challenging to do business in the UK. Meanwhile the US administration has been putting increasing pressure on pharma companies to move more manufacturing there. AstraZeneca gets 43% of its revenue from the US, compared to 23% from Europe.
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