By William James
CAMBRIDGE, England, April 25 (Reuters) - Talk of a $100billion bid by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer for its Britishrival AstraZeneca is "a commercial matter between thecompanies", Britain's finance minister George Osborne said onFriday.
Shares in Britain's second biggest drugs group hit recordhighs this week on the bid speculation. Both companies havedeclined to comment on a weekend newspaper report thatAstraZeneca spurned an approach from Pfizer earlier this year.
Several analysts believe Pfizer may be tempted back byAstraZeneca's pipeline of cancer drugs, as well as the potentialto cut costs and make use of cash accumulated through foreignsubsidiaries that would be taxed if repatriated to the U.S.
Asked about the matter after delivering a speech on theeconomic importance of Britain's science base, Osborne said thereports were speculative and declined to comment on any possiblegovernment involvement.
"It's a commercial matter between the companies," he said."I note that AstraZeneca has not put out any market statement,which is something people's attention should be drawn to, but Idon't think I should comment further on that commercial matter."
Acquiring AstraZeneca would be the biggest ever foreigntakeover of a British company and the suggested deal hastriggered worries about jobs in Britain's pharmaceuticalssector, which is viewed as a key industry by the government.
The healthcare sector is in the middle of a wave ofdeal-making, with Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline this week agreeing to trade more than $20 billion worth ofassets and Zimmer agreeing to buy rival orthopaedicproducts maker Biomet for $13 billion.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals, meanwhile, is in a $47billion bid battle to buy Botox maker Allergan. (Writing by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Sophie Walker)