14th Sep 2015 05:34
SAINT HELIER (Alliance News) - Ireland-based pharmaceutical company Shire PLC is weighing options for sweetening its multibillion-dollar, all-stock offer for US biotechnology firm Baxalta Inc by putting cash into shareholders' hands sooner, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter.
The Dublin-based drug maker's unsolicited proposal-disclosed last month and valued at about USD30.0 billion based on Shire's stock price at the time-excluded any cash.
Shire said instead it would return cash to Baxalta investors by launching a share buyback program "promptly after" the close of the deal.
Last Month, Baxalta, which was spun off from healthcare company Baxter International Inc. (BAX) in early July, rejected an unsolicited USD30 billion takeover bid from Shire PLC, saying that its board of directors determined the offer was not in the best interests of Baxalta or its shareholders.
Now, Shire has communicated to some Baxalta shareholders that it is considering how it might fashion a revised deal that would hand cash to shareholders sooner than the buyback plan allows, without jeopardising the tax-free status of the spinoff, the report said.
It isn't clear what specific avenues Shire and its advisers are pursuing-or whether Shire is now considering boosting the overall value of its offer. One complication for Shire is that the value of its stock has fallen some 17% since it made its approach to Baxalta public in early August. That decline could require it to sweeten its bid beyond simply speeding up the payment of cash to investors, the report said.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
Related Shares:
Shire