This proposed takeover has become a political hot potato in Britain, with all sides wading in across the ideological span, from state intervention to free markets. The potential problem, given that eventually Pfizer make a sufficiently attractive offer to tempt AZ investors, stems not from the specifics of this deal, but from the broken promises of the now infamous takeover of Cadbury by Kraft. That flagrant betrayal, whatever the caveats of not realizing the true picture until able to look into the books after purchase, screwed any prospect of an easy ride for US corporations with eyes on big UK companies.
There is complete distrust of whatever promises Pfizer may make and a growing suspicion that the approach by the US giant has more to do with its own problems that it has to do with the opportunity offered by Astra Zeneca. AZ was until recently a potential target, because two successive leaders of the company had failed to organize an effective strategy post expiring patents, but new leadership is transforming the company’s future prospects, giving it a business model a good deal better than the Viagra dependent Pfizer.
Sooner or later the issue will be resolved by a merger, or a failure to merge, and everyone will move on. At the heart of it all lies a very telling statistic. The United Kingdom is the largest foreign investor in the Unites States, way ahead of Germany, Japan and China. Likewise the US is the biggest foreign investor in the UK. This is what the special relationship is really about.