September 10, 2020: “AstraZeneca announced that it will be transferring the listing of its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and its US-listed debt securities from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to the Nasdaq Global Select Market (Nasdaq) and Nasdaq Bond Exchange respectively.
The transfers will be effective after market close on Thursday 24 September 2020.
AstraZeneca ADRs and US-listed debt securities are expected to commence trading on Nasdaq from Friday 25 September 2020.
The ADRs will continue to be listed under the ticker symbol “AZN”. The Company’s primary listing in the UK on the London Stock Exchange and in Sweden on Nasdaq Stockholm are unaffected by the move.
Marc Dunoyer, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, said: “The change of stock exchange in the US will reduce overall listing cost for our equity and debt securities.
Further, as a global science-led, patient-focused biopharmaceutical company, dedicated to pushing the boundaries of science to deliver life-changing medicines, we are excited to be joining many of the world’s largest and most innovative companies on Nasdaq.”
Thomas Kudsk Larsen, Head of Investor Relations, said: “The move to Nasdaq for US listing will provide access to stock-market indices for AstraZeneca’s ADR, which is of increasing importance due to the expanded use of exchange-traded funds as well as index and passive investment strategies.
We continuously focus on improving conditions for shareholders and potential new investors and the move to Nasdaq is a logical next step.”
Stock-exchange listings
The principal markets for trading in AstraZeneca shares are currently the London Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stockholm and the New York Stock Exchange.
Ordinary shares of $0.25 each in AstraZeneca PLC are listed on the London Stock Exchange and the shareholder register is maintained by Equiniti Limited.
Shares listed on Nasdaq Stockholm are issued under the Euroclear services agreement by Euroclear Sweden AB, the Swedish central securities depositary.
US ADRs representing ordinary shares are issued by Deutsche Bank, the depositary bank, and currently listed on NYSE with intended switch to Nasdaq on 25 September 2020.
ADR programme
ADRs are US dollar-denominated securities issued by a depositary bank, representing ownership of the underlying ordinary shares of a non-US company.
AstraZeneca’s ADR programme was established in 1999 when Astra AB and Zeneca Group PLC merged.
The ADR ratio is 2:1, meaning two ADRs represent one ordinary share. AstraZeneca’s ADRs trade on NYSE under the symbol “AZN” and will continue to trade under this symbol after the move to Nasdaq.
Deutsche Bank is the depositary bank for the programme and undertakes a number of functions including: issuing and cancelling ADRs; serving as registrar and transfer agent for the ADR and processing dividend payments for the ADR holders.
As at 31 August 2020, 492 million ADRs were outstanding (representing 18.8 per cent of the share capital of the Company) with an average of 4 million ADRs traded each day.”
