Freshfields advises AstraZeneca on upgraded New York listing

Freshfields has advised AstraZeneca on plans to overhaul its share listing structure in a move designed to strengthen the British pharma giant’s US presence.

The FTSE 100 company, the UK’s second-most valuable listed business at the time of the announcement, will list its ordinary shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange, replacing the American depositary receipts (ADRs) currently offered to US investors.

The move puts AstraZeneca’s Wall Street listing on an equal footing with its London one, although the company will remain incorporated, headquartered and tax resident in the UK.

Behind the move

It follows reports in July that CEO Pascal Soriot was considering shifting the drugmaker’s primary listing to the US, citing frustrations with the UK’s regulatory and pricing regime for medicines.

AstraZeneca said the upgraded New York listing - adding to its existing listings in London and Stockholm - would give it greater access to the world’s largest and most liquid market for capital, and described the move as "a global listing for a global company".

Advising

A Freshfields team including London-based Jennifer Bethlehem (corporate/M&A), Julian Long (corporate/M&A), Alice Greenwell (employment) and May Smith (tax) as well as Michael Levitt (capital markets) and Joe Soltis (tax) in New York advised AstraZeneca.

The firm is a key adviser of AstraZeneca, having advised the drugmaker on a string of billion-dollar acquisitions in just the last two years, including Fusion (for $2.4 billion), Amolyt ($1.05 billion), Gracell ($1.2 billion) and Icosavax ($1.1 billion).