AstraZeneca Reported to Offer About 10 Billion Dollars for Rhythm in Non-Binding Bid

AstraZeneca has made a reported offer of about 10 billion dollars to buy Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, according to reports published on November 4, 2026. The offer is non-binding. Neither company has confirmed it, and no deal has been agreed.

Reuters reported the total from its own sourcing. Three people familiar with the matter told Reuters that AstraZeneca offered as much as 134 dollars a share in a non-binding proposal, including payments tied to milestone achievements. That figure would put the total value at about 10 billion dollars.

The Wall Street Journal reported a different price. The Journal said AstraZeneca made an offer of 124 dollars a share last month. That price is a premium of about 43 percent over the Tuesday closing price of 86.44 dollars for Rhythm shares. The two prices come from different reporting and cover different terms, and they should not be read as one price.

Market reaction

Investors pushed Rhythm shares higher after the reports appeared. The stock closed up 28 percent at 110.68 dollars on November 4, 2026. That close gave Rhythm a market capitalization of about 7.64 billion dollars, according to LSEG data reported by Reuters.

The move shows that traders took the reports seriously. It does not confirm that a takeover will happen. A non-binding offer can change or fall away, and the companies have not announced an agreement.

How the deal would be structured

The purchase would run through Alexion, the rare disease business of AstraZeneca, according to two of the people familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters. AstraZeneca bought Alexion for 39 billion dollars in 2021.

Alexion specializes in treatments for rare diseases. Rhythm develops therapies for rare neuroendocrine disorders and for rare metabolic disorders and severe obesity. A deal through Alexion would place Rhythm inside the part of AstraZeneca that already focuses on rare disease drugs.

Why Rhythm draws interest

One Rhythm therapy has gained wider use this year. In March 2026, the United States Food and Drug Administration expanded the use of Imcivree for a rare form of obesity caused by brain damage. Reuters reported that the expansion made Imcivree the first treatment approved in the United States for that condition.

The Wall Street Journal said AstraZeneca had expressed interest in Rhythm before and renewed its pursuit in recent months. The Journal report and the Reuters report both appeared on November 4, 2026.

An AstraZeneca spokesperson declined to comment. Rhythm did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to the reports.

Until one of the companies confirms the terms, the offer stays in the category of reported talks. The price, the structure and the outcome all remain unconfirmed.