AstraZeneca, which declined to comment Monday, saw its share price slump more than 7% in early London trading following the report, published Sunday.

The drugmaker was valued at £196 billion ($264 billion) ahead of the report, while BMS was worth $133 billion.

A deal would create one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical groups and strengthen AstraZeneca’s push into the United States.

According to the people, “the talks could yield a deal in the near future but may be delayed or fall apart”, the report said.

AstraZeneca, Britain’s largest drugmaker, announced last week that its net profit edged up to $2.5 billion in the second quarter, driven once again by strong sales of its cancer drugs.

BMS’s after-tax profit more than doubled in the second quarter to $3.3 billion.

AstraZeneca is focused on expanding in two of its largest markets, the United States and China, investing billions of dollars in the countries to research and manufacture new drugs.

AstraZeneca hopes the US market will account for half its global revenue by 2030 after reaching 43% last year.

In February, the company began listing its shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange to attract more investors.

(bms)