AstraZeneca, the No. 1 pharmaceutical company in the United Kingdom, said on the 29th (local time) that it plans to directly list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in February next year.
AstraZeneca said it will replace its American depositary receipt (ADR) trading on Nasdaq with a direct listing in New York. ADRs allow U.S. investors to invest in non-U.S. companies. Converting ADRs to directly listed shares can increase liquidity and attract more investors.
The plan comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is pressuring global pharmaceutical companies to invest in the United States and maintaining tariff pressure on imported medicines. Recently, the company also said it would invest $50 billion (70.1 trillion won) in manufacturing and research and development (R&D) in the United States.
Michelle Dumarais, AstraZeneca's chair, said of the New York listing, "A globally integrated listing structure will support our long-term growth strategy," adding, "It will allow access to a broader and more diverse base of investors worldwide." The listing plan will be finalized after a shareholder meeting vote on Nov. 3.
Earlier, there was speculation that AstraZeneca could abandon its London listing and transfer to the United States, because the United States accounts for a large share of the company's shareholders and revenue. According to the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), 22% of AstraZeneca's shareholders are from North America. U.S. institutional investors, including BlackRock, are major shareholders. In addition, last year it posted $23.2 billion (about 32.5 trillion won) in sales in the United States, accounting for 43% of its global revenue.
However, AstraZeneca plans to keep its headquarters in Cambridge and remain on the London market even if it lists on the New York stock market. Currently, AstraZeneca is the United Kingdom's No. 2 major listed company on the London Stock Exchange by market capitalization, after the financial group HSBC. The U.K. Treasury welcomed AstraZeneca's decision to maintain its London listing, and the London Stock Exchange said there would be no change to its status within the FTSE 100 index corporations.
However, as AstraZeneca has increased investment in the United States recently, it decided to halt its roughly £200 million (376.8 billion won) investment in its Cambridge, U.K., research institute. This aligns with global pharmaceutical companies' reduced investment in the United Kingdom, prompting concern in the local market. In fact, U.S. companies Eli Lilly and Merck also decided to withdraw or fully cancel their investment plans in the United Kingdom.
Global pharmaceutical companies are pushing back against the U.K. government's drug price policy. Pharmaceutical companies operating in the United Kingdom must refund 23.5% of their annual revenue to the National Health Service (NHS), the state-run health insurance system. The rebate ratio is higher than in France (5.7%) and Germany (7%).