Astrazeneca to ‘upgrade’ US listing in latest blow to London Stock Exchange
Astrazeneca has laid out plans aimed at “upgrading” its US listing in the latest blow to the London Stock Exchange.
The Cambridge-based pharma giant said it would replace its existing Nasdaq listing of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), a type of listing for trading overseas shares, with a direct listing of ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a bid to give it “the flexibility to access the broadest possible available pool of capital.”
Following implementation of the new scheme, dubbed the Harmonised Listing Structure, shareholders will be able to trade Astrazeneca shares across the London Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stockholm and the New York Stock Exchange, in a downgrade of London’s role as the principal trading venue for its shares.
But the company has recommitted to the UK, adding that it would continue to be listed, headquartered in and tax resident in Britain. The announcement also puts to bed rumours that the pharma firm had been plotting to delist from London altogether.
Astrazeneca chair Michel Demaré said: “Enabling a global listing structure will allow us to reach a broader mix of global investors and will make it even more attractive for all our shareholders to have the opportunity to participate in Astrazeneca’s exciting future.”
The move adds Astrazeneca to a growing number of UK firms that have pursued a US listing in search of improved liquidity and higher valuations. In June, £11bn London fintech Wise swapped London for New York as its primary listing venue, while in 2023, the Japanese owners of $150bn Cambridge-based semiconductor firm Arm, a former FTSE 100 constituent, opted to re-list the company in New York.
Neil Wilson, UK Investor Strategist at Saxo Bank, said Astrazeneca “wants to improve visibility and tap the deeper markets of the US while retaining its British and Swedish DNA.
“I think there is probably relief that it’s not pursuing a primary listing in New York, but the decision is hardly a ringing endorsement of London.
“It reflects the fundamental, structural issues in the UK for the largest globally-oriented stocks – the depth and liquidity of its capital markets is falling short of what’s on offer across the pond.”
Pivot to the US
The decision is the latest sign that Astrazeneca is eyeing the US as its fastest driver of growth in the coming years as the pharma firm pares back investment in the UK.
In July, the company unveiled plans to invest as much as $50bn in manufacturing and R&D in the US over the next five years.
The investment is set to include a new manufacturing facility in Virginia, its largest-ever single manufacturing investment, as well as manufacturing facilities for cell therapy in Rockville, Maryland and Tarzana, California, as well as a new R&D centre in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Earlier this month, however, Astrazeneca paused a planned £200m expansion of its research site in Cambridge, while earlier this year it abandoned plans to invest £450 million in a vaccine plant in Merseyside.