AstraZeneca holds talks with Bristol Myers Squibb on $400bn merger

Tie-up would be one of the biggest pharmaceutical deals ever and create the world’s fourth-largest drugmaker Business live – latest updates Britain’s biggest drugmaker AstraZeneca is in discussions to take over its US rival Bristol Myers Squibb in a deal that would create a near-$400bn (£300bn) pharmaceutical group. AstraZeneca, run by longtime chief executive Pascal Soriot, is the second-biggest listed company in the UK, with a market value of nearly £196bn. BMS, headquartered in Princeton a