Fears AstraZeneca will quit the London Stock Market as shares rally in blockbuster Wall Street debut
AstraZeneca shares started trading on Wall Street yesterday – fuelling fears that the British drugs giant could eventually quit the London stock market.
Bosses hailed ‘an exciting new period’ for the group as it made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company is keeping its listings on the London Stock Exchange – where it is the second-largest firm in the FTSE 100 with a value of £215billion – and in Stockholm.
But the decision to put its US shares on an equal footing has raised fears it could at some point switch its main listing to Wall Street, in what would be a huge setback for London.
Shares rose 3.2 per cent in London yesterday and more than 5 per cent in New York.
AstraZeneca said it hopes the new listing will help US investors to participate in the company’s ‘strong growth’.
US listing: Astrazeneca shares have started trading on Wall Street although the company is keeping its listings on the London Stock Exchange
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AstraZeneca makes almost half of its revenues in the US and is targeting further expansion there.
Last July, the company said it plans around £36.5billion in investment in the US by 2030.
AstraZeneca chairman Michel Demare said the listing ‘marks the start of an exciting new period for AstraZeneca’.
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