AstraZeneca share rise shows value, says CEO

AstraZeneca P.L.C.'s stock has climbed to the price that Pfizer Inc. initially offered to buy the United Kingdom drugmaker, indicating the company can create value without a buyout, chief executive officer Pascal Soriot said.

AstraZeneca closed at 46.20 British pounds ($73.17) Thursday on the London Stock Exchange, roughly the price Pfizer offered Soriot and the AstraZeneca board when they first met in January to discuss a takeover, Soriot said on a conference call with reporters Wednesday.

"The original price was 46 pounds and it was meant to be a premium," Soriot said. "Hopefully that shows the value we can make implementing our independent strategy."

AstraZeneca has posted three consecutive quarters of revenue growth. On Wednesday it raised its sales and earnings forecast for the second time this year.

When asked about the Paris-based drugmaker Sanofi's reportedly contacting him about its now-vacant CEO position, Soriot, a native of France, said he now considers himself Australian because his wife and children live there.

AstraZeneca and Pfizer have operations in the Philadelphia region.

AstraZeneca rejected Pfizer's final bid, which amounted to about $117 billion in May, saying the company's pipeline of experimental drugs made it more valuable as a stand-alone company. Under U.K. takeover rules, Pfizer can make another approach after Nov. 26.

Pfizer had planned to move its tax domicile to the U.K. as part of the deal, to save money on taxes. Soriot had said that was risky because the United States could crack down on such deals, known as tax inversions. The U.S. Treasury put new regulations in place in September to make inversions less attractive.

Faced with the new rules, AbbVie Inc. abandoned its agreement to purchase Shire Plc. Soriot said that AbbVie's takeover offer ultimately proved to be a costly distraction for Dublin-based Shire.

"It sends a strong signal that tax inversion risk is serious," he said. If Pfizer returns, AstraZeneca will listen, Soriot said. "We will do what's right for our shareholders," he said. "We will consider any offer that comes to us."

Third-quarter profit excluding certain items declined 13 percent to $1.77 billion, down from $2.03 billion. Sales for the quarter rose 5 percent to $6.5 billion.