AstraZeneca rejects Pfizer’s take-it-or-leave-it offer

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) – Britain's AstraZeneca on Monday rejected a sweetened and "final" offer from Pfizer, puncturing the U.S. drugmaker's plan for a merger to create the world's biggest pharmaceuticals group. The rebuff came nine hours after Pfizer said on Sunday night it had raised its takeover offer to 55 pounds a share, or around 70 billion pounds ($118 billion) in total, and would walk away if AstraZeneca did not accept it. The rejection left some major shareholders fuming as shares in AstraZeneca slumped 11 percent to close at 42.88 pounds after falling as much as 15 percent – their biggest ever intra-day decline. Pfizer rose 1 percent in New York.