LONDON (Reuters) - The British government said it had pressed U.S. company Pfizer (N:PFE) to commit to British jobs and research in its bid for AstraZeneca (L:AZN), but the decision on whether the British group will be sold was a matter for its shareholders.
"This is ultimately going to be a decision for AstraZeneca shareholders," the Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts told BBC Radio on Friday.
"We are pressing Pfizer in a very hard-nosed way. Their letter has a set of proposals for research and development and manufacturing in the UK that have moved a long way from where they were a week ago."
The U.S. company sent a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron laying out a series of commitments to Britain on Friday, when it also raised its offer for Britain's second biggest pharmaceutical company.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Sarah Young)