Pfizer Inc. isn’t giving up on striking an overseas takeover to cut its tax rate and gain a new pipeline of drugs, even as the potential cost of acquiring AstraZeneca Plc rises.
Pfizer abandoned a 69.5-billion-pound ($116 billion) effort to buy London-based AstraZeneca on May 26, and under U.K. takeover rules it can make the first steps toward a renewed bid next week, on Aug. 26. While it weighs that approach, Pfizer also is looking at other possible targets, including Actavis Plc, said people familiar with the matter.
