SunTrust Sees Further Pfizer Inc. Bid For AstraZeneca PLC (ADR) 'Highly Likely'

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is likely to boost its offer for British drug maker AstraZeneca PLC (ADR) (NYSE: AZN) to $96.28 a share, an analyst said Tuesday.

SunTrust's John Boris said a deal would cut Pfizer's tax rate to 20 percent and said potential Treasury inversion action blocking such action is merely “election year rhetoric.”

The $127 billion offer envisioned by Boris would tack on 6.3 percent to its earlier bid of $120 billion, which AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) rejected back in mid-May

AstraZeneca's American Depositary Receipts were recently down two percent at $74.62 from Friday's high, but were still up nearly 26 percent for the year.

Under British rules, AstraZeneca can, starting Tuesday, invite it back for talks or Pfizer can make a single "knock-out" bid which it believes would be accepted. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) can also start a more conventional bidding process over again, beginning in November.