AstraZeneca blocks Advent's $7.6-bn buyout of Swedish Orphan Biovitrum

AstraZeneca effectively blocked a $7.6 billion takeover of Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (Sobi) by withholding its 8% stake in the drugmaker from a buyout offer by Advent International and Singapore wealth fund GIC, according to people familiar with the situation.

 

The UK drugmaker’s opposition meant the offer fell short of the 90 per cent threshold needed for approval, torpedoing what would have been the largest take-private deal in European health care sector this year.

 

Sobi lost a quarter of its value.