According to London's Financial Times the drugs company is close to announcing a deal worth up to $10bn to acquire full control of its joint venture with Merck in the US.

Such a move would free Astra to enter merger talks with another drugs company, seen as an essential move in order to survive in the rapidly consolidating pharmaceutical sector.

On Friday, Astra confirmed that it was in talks about "structural changes" at Astra-Merck, but declined to "say more than that for the time being."

Astra's and Merck's joint US retail operation is marketing the Swedish company's best-selling ulcer treatment Losec. According to the paper, Astra would make an initial cash payment of $1.5bn to $3bn.

Consolidation seems inevitalbe in the drugs business

The Financial Times called the deal one of the sector's "biggest divorces of all time."

Merck has the rights to half of all the profits of the joint venture formed four years ago. Back then Astra paid $820 million for a 50% stake in Merck's American sales unit.