Report: AstraZeneca denies merger talks with Bristol Myers Squibb

Single-source report (Financial Times, 2 August 2026, picked up by CNBC): British-Swedish pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca is said to be in talks about a combination with US group Bristol Myers Squibb. The merged company would be valued at around $400bn, making it one of the world's largest pharmaceutical groups. Neither company commented. No binding agreement exists, and no second independent confirmation of the report was available when this entry was recorded. Update (5 August 2026): the report was denied. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters there is no deal between AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb, that “there never was a deal to be done” and that there are no discussions between the companies; a second person familiar with the matter confirmed that no active talks are under way. Neither group has issued a formal statement of its own (source: Pharmaceutical Executive citing Reuters, 5 August 2026).