Pfizer-AstraZeneca deal not quite dead yet

By Bill Berkrot NEW YORK (Reuters) – Pfizer Inc may have called its $118 billion bid for AstraZeneca Plc a “final” offer, and its British rival sees no prospect of a deal being revived. Morningstar analyst Damien Conover in Chicago said the odds of an AstraZeneca purchase had fallen well below the 50 percent mark. AstraZeneca shareholders, some of them already expressing their disappointment over the company’s rebuff of Pfizer, may still pressure the board to reconsider, analysts and fund managers said on Monday. That could force the British company to engage with Pfizer, the largest U.S. drugmaker.