AstraZeneca confirms delisting plan, stock rises

Ending all ambiguity, AstraZeneca Pharma India confirmed on Tuesday (March 18) that it was indeed delisting from the exchanges and promptly saw its share price rise.

In a communication to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company said: "Pursuant to and in accordance with Regulation 8(1)(a) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Delisting of Equity Shares) Regulations, 2009, the delisting proposal received from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals AB, Sweden, the promoter of the company, vide their letter dated March 1, 2014, was considered and approved by the board of the company at its meeting held on March 15, 2014."

AstraZeneca India's share price on the Bombay Stock Exchange rose 3.98 per cent and by 11 am it was trading at Rs 1206. (It touched its 52 week high of Rs 1285 on March 4.) The stock closed 2.80 per cent higher at Rs 1,192 on the BSE.

Analysts said this was expected since there was little point for the company to stay listed on multiple stock exchanges. From the shareholders perspective too, the move makes sense since the company's stock has not been doing too well given the change in the market scenario and especially with the price controls imposed on products coming under the NLEM (National List of Essential Medicines). Just last year, around this time, on March 26, 2013, it touched a 52-week low at Rs 595.