--- title: "AstraZeneca’s US tilt could be the death knell for London’s stock market" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/294724327.md" description: "AstraZeneca's potential £300bn merger with US rival Bristol Myers Squibb has sparked fears it could trigger a mass exodus of UK blue-chip companies to the US, devastating London's stock market. Critics argue this deal threatens Britain's corporate base and science sector, while criticizing the government's lack of response compared to past interventions." datetime: "2026-08-03T17:59:45.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/294724327.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294724327.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/294724327.md) --- # AstraZeneca’s US tilt could be the death knell for London’s stock market “Companies are trying to be nice to Trump. It’s a charm offensive, but there’s nothing to panic about just yet,” a shareholder in AstraZeneca said after the drug-making giant listed its shares in New York last year. Whoever uttered those sage words will be mightily relieved they chose to remain anonymous, because it’s not an observation that has aged well. Over the weekend, it emerged that AstraZeneca had held talks about a £300bn mega-merger with US rival Bristol Myers Squibb. The reports came with all the usual caveats about how the discussions may be delayed or even fall apart. In fact, there was a strong sense that the negotiations may even be historic given neither side commented. But the mere fact that AstraZeneca has even entertained such a tie-up should be enough to provoke panic in the Square Mile and Westminster. Make no mistake: if this deal goes ahead, it has the potential to be devastating for Britain. For the City in particular, it will almost certainly be the death knell, opening the door to a probable stampede of some of Britain’s biggest companies across the Atlantic starting with BP, whose commitment to the UK has never looked less flimsy after it announced plans to pull out of the North Sea. Analysts and investors are concerned that a tie-up with Bristol Myers Squibb could be the first step towards AstraZeneca moving to the US. If it flees to New York, Shell would surely feel pressured into reconsidering its UK domicile. Could HSBC be counted on to stick around? What about other FTSE 100 giants such as Unilever or Rio Tinto, who count London as their home but have operations across the globe? Andy Burnham must be alive to this threat. The departure of any of the companies that occupy the upper echelons of the blue-chip index could be akin to a dam bursting. Once the breach has occurred, it cannot be plugged: more companies will move, turning London into a barren corporate wasteland. The response, or rather lack of it from the Government, to BP’s decision to abandon the North Sea after 60 years does not inspire confidence. This seismic event was met by total silence from Burnham and Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary. You would’ve thought speculation about BP’s possible departure would have at least kept John Healey awake this weekend. Instead, the Chancellor appears to have been too preoccupied being tormented by the same imaginary bogeymen that haunted his predecessor on multiple occasions. Writing in The Telegraph just 48 hours after BP’s North Sea sale was announced, Healey warned supermarkets that he would crack down on any “price-gouging” at either “the pump or the till”. With the Cabinet either asleep at the wheel, it fell to Opposition politicians to point out the bleeding obvious. Andrew Bowie, the shadow Scotland secretary, said Labour’s hostility to oil and gas meant BP’s exit from the North Sea was “inevitable”, at the same time as warning that “it also paves the way for the company to quit the UK altogether”. Likewise, the Prime Minister’s assertion that talks between AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb are “a private matter for the companies involved” is deeply worrying. It wouldn’t be the first time that a genuine threat to AstraZeneca’s independence and British roots was met with complacency, of course. David Cameron was guilty of both astonishing naivety and unforgivable recklessness when he rolled out the red carpet for Pfizer in 2014 after it launched a hostile £70bn takeover bid for the company. Back then it was a combination of the determination of Sir Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s chief executive, to remain independent, and opposition from prominent Labour MPs, including Ed Miliband, the then party leader, that ensured AstraZeneca stayed out of foreign hands. The future Foreign Secretary attacked what he described as Pfizer’s “paper-thin assurances” to protect AstraZeneca’s research and development (R&D) base. He also accused Cameron of acting as a “cheerleader” for the American pharmaceutical firm – a reminder that there was once a time when Miliband had some sensible things to say. It will be fascinating to see whether he shares those same misgivings this time around. Many of the doubts he expressed more than a decade ago about how Cameron should be “championing British jobs and the British success story that is AstraZeneca” as well as the investment it provides “in research and development, a crucial part of our science base” are just as relevant today. Agreed mergers tend to be less damaging than hostile takeovers. However, it is clear that a combination with Bristol Myers Squibb could be the catalyst for AstraZeneca’s centre of gravity shifting much further to the US. That would threaten its headquarters, research-and-development presence in Britain and indeed the country’s wider science base. Sir Pascal’s affection for the UK has waned notably in recent months and years as a result of extreme dissatisfaction with the Government’s treatment of the pharmaceutical sector. He was furious at Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to cut back state funding for a £450m vaccine plant in Speke, Merseyside, so much so that the plans were shelved. Sir Pascal has also blamed a “discouraging” tax rate for a decision to base a $360m (£270m) manufacturing plant in Ireland, rather than Britain. Wes Streeting’s, the former health secretary, stealth tax on NHS drug suppliers, and the difficulty in bringing new treatments to market, have also been the source of much frustration. The decision to list AstraZeneca’s shares in New York last year should be viewed at least partially as a consequence of that disenchantment. But equally, it was a response to rapidly changing geopolitics. Stalling investment in Britain has coincided with a whopping £50bn deal with the White House to expand its manufacturing and research facilities in the US. America already accounts for more than 40pc of AstraZeneca’s annual turnover. But Trump’s threat of heavy US import tariffs on foreign pharmaceuticals has been a remarkably effective investment incentive. Sir Pascal’s description of the drugmaker as a “very American company” after shaking hands with Trump on its plans was hardly reassuring. Meanwhile, growing fears that Washington could pull up the drawbridge on Chinese-manufactured drugs as part of an escalation of its trade war with Beijing are likely to be weighing heavily on AstraZeneca’s board. The company generates more than 10pc of its sales in China and recently unveiled a $15bn expansion plan for the mainland, which includes the building of a brand new R&D centre in the capital. In the end, it may be opposition from the City that derails Sir Pascal’s ambitions. AstraZeneca’s shares tumbled nearly 8pc after news of the talks with Bristol Myers leaked – equivalent to a £15bn sell-off by investors. With one shareholder claiming a deal “does not make strategic or financial sense”, the two sides may have their work cut out. Yet that’s no excuse for ministerial apathy in the face of such an obvious threat to Britain’s national interests. ### Related Stocks - [AZN.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AZN.US.md) - [AZN.UK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AZN.UK.md) - [BMY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BMY.US.md) - [BP.UK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BP.UK.md) - [BP.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BP.US.md) - [SHEL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SHEL.US.md) - [HSBA.UK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/HSBA.UK.md) - [00005.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/00005.HK.md) - [HSBC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/HSBC.US.md) - [ULVR.UK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ULVR.UK.md) - [UL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/UL.US.md) - [RIO.UK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RIO.UK.md) - [RIO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RIO.US.md) - [RIO.AU](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RIO.AU.md) - [PFE.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PFE.US.md) - [CELG.RT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CELG.RT.US.md) - [SHEL.WI.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SHEL.WI.US.md) - [DTIW.SG](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DTIW.SG.md) - [RTPPF.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RTPPF.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Why Is Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Surging Monday?](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294697898.md) - [AstraZeneca-Bristol Myers Merger Buzz Puts Patent Expiration and Deal Economics in Focus](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294722299.md) - [Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN)](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294716282.md) - [Key facts: AstraZeneca (AZN) merger talks with BMS; 6% revenue rise](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294654032.md) - [$400 Billion Pharma Megadeal? 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