Divisions deepen over Pfizer's spurned bid for AstraZeneca

The splits between big investors over AstraZeneca's decision to reject Pfizer's takeover attempt deepened yesterday.

The fund management titan Neil Woodford said he is "convinced that an independent AstraZeneca will achieve far better returns… than the combination of cash and Pfizer paper would have delivered."

Fidelity's chief investment officer Dominic Rossi, said: "I don't think that Pfizer was a suitable partner. It was motivated by tax and finance considerations.

"The Astra board has taken a very difficult decision. They understood in rejecting the offer they would be criticised by some shareholders. We will now have to wait two to three years to see whether they were right"

In contrast, Schroders was disappointed by the "quick rejection" and called on the UK group "to recommence their engagement with Pfizer".