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AstraZeneca’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot, has reportedly said that he would like to shift the company’s stock market listing from the UK to the US.
The boss of Britain’s most valuable listed company has spoken privately about a preference to move the listing to New York, the Times reported. It added that he had also considered moving the company’s domicile.
The FTSE 100 company’s share price rose by 2.8% on Tuesday, with most of the increase happening after the story was published.
A shift in AstraZeneca’s listing would deal a major blow to the London Stock Exchange, which has already had to deal with a series of departures by companies seeking higher valuations. Among those who have left the FTSE 100 in recent years are equipment rental company Ashtead, Paddy Power bookmaker owner Flutter Entertainment, building materials supplier CRH and packaging company Smurfit Westrock.
A shift by AstraZeneca would almost certainly face opposition by the UK government, although it would not have the power to formally block a move. Labour made life sciences one of its key growth sectors in its industrial strategy published last month.
A spokesperson for AstraZeneca declined to comment.
The government remains stuck in negotiations with the drug industry, including AstraZeneca, over rebates that pharmaceutical companies must pay on sales of new medicines to the NHS, under a voluntary agreement.
Soriot has publicly expressed his frustration over the rejection of AstraZeneca’sbreast cancer drug Enhertu for use in the NHS on cost grounds.
Earlier this year, the company, headquartered in Cambridge, caused consternation in government by pulling out of a £450m project to produce vaccines in Speke, Liverpool, while saying that the business case did not make sense without more financial support from government.
Soriot has overseen the market value of AstraZeneca more than tripling since he took over in October 2012. The company has overtaken oil company Shell – also seen as a contender for a move to the US – and HSBC, a bank, with a market value of £157bn.
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The US is the world’s biggest pharmaceutical market, with by far the highest spending per person on medicines despite having a lower life expectancy than several other countries. UK executives have long complained that their companies are undervalued compared with American counterparts.
Soriot has emphasised the company’s ambitions to grow in the US. In November, he told investors that “we want to see even more growth in the US over the next few years as part of our 2030 ambition,” according to a transcript from data company Alphasense. The “US is, of course, a very important market and that supports innovation, and we will continue to invest to grow fast in this part of the world”, Soriot said.
The chief executive’s pay has increased in line with AstraZeneca’s market value. He has been the highest-paid chief executive on the FTSE 100 for two years running, receiving £16.85m for 2023, up from £15.3m in 2022.
