AstraZeneca to list shares directly on NYSE
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The news: AstraZeneca is planning to directly list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, replacing the American depositary receipts (ADRs) that have until now given US investors exposure to the company.
The numbers: With a market value of GBP172 billion ($351.9 billion), the drugmaker said that the move will broaden its investor base. The WSJ reports that the US accounted for 43% of the company’s revenue in 2024 and that the company aims to generate half of its sales in the country by 2030.
In July, AstraZeneca announced plans to invest USD50 billion for manufacturing and research and development in the US.
London-listed shares in the drugmaker rose 1.4% in European morning trading on Monday.
The context: The UK’s largest drugmaker and second largest FTSE-100 company said in a press release that it will retain its London listing and remain headquartered in the UK, and that it will continue to be listed on the Swedish OMX Stockholm 30.
AstraZeneca’s decision to shakeup it’s listing structure the US will help it create “a global listing for global investors in a global company,” the firm said. The AstraZeneca board is “determined to ensure that the AstraZeneca Group has the flexibility to access the broadest available pool of capital, including in the US,” the press release reads.
ADRs are less liquid and harder to trade than the ordinary shares the company intends to list on the NYSE.
While the company is retaining its London listing, the move marks another blow to the London market which has suffered as a steady stream of London-listed companies have been taken-private or had their primary listings shifted to the US.
Mark Kelly, chief executive of corporate advisory firm MKP Advisors, told the FT: “Companies like AstraZeneca have been looking for ways to shift the balance of their listings away from London towards the USA while maintaining a guise of diplomacy.”
The sources: AstraZeneca, FT, WSJ
