8th Jul 2014 13:24
LONDON (Alliance News) - US drugs maker AbbVie Inc said Tuesday it has made a fourth, sweetened proposal for FTSE 100-listed Shire PLC, raising its bid by 11% to GBP30.1 billion and encouraging shareholders of Shire to consider the proposal and "communicate their perspective" to Shire's board.
AbbVie's new proposal is for GBP22.44 in cash and 0.8568 ordinary shares in the new company for each Shire share, valuing Shire's shares at GBP51.15 each.
The latest offer by AbbVie is an 11% increase from its previous indicative proposal of GBP46.26 a share in cash and shares, which valued Shire's share capital at GBP27.2 billion.
The latest proposal also allows Shire shareholders to own a potential 24% of the enlarged company.
It said the offer was a premium of 75% to Shire's closing share price of GBP2,925 pence on April 17, and a 48% premium to its closing price of GBP3,467 on May 2.
Shire's shares have gained considerably on the back of takeover speculation, and were trading up 0.5% at 4,676.00 pence Tuesday afternoon.
The US company said that it has met with, or spoken to, a large number of Shire shareholders who "collectively represent a majority of Shire's outstanding shares." It said these were primarily longer-term shareholders, including its largest shareholders.
AbbVie said it was "willing to move quickly and cooperatively to engage with Shire with a view to achieving a transaction for the benefit of all shareholders," and encouraged shareholders to push for a dialogue in light of what it called the "Put Up or Shut Up" deadline of July 18.
In response, Shire said that its board will meet to consider AbbVie's proposal and said it will make a further announcement "in due course."
Shire strongly advised shareholders to take no action, and added that there was no certainty any firm offer will be made. The UK firm confirmed that AbbVie did not make the revised proposal to Shire before announcing it.
Shire has previously rebuffed three indicative offers from AbbVie, saying that the company undervalued its company, and arguing it could deliver better value by remaining independent. AbbVie first approached Shire in early May with a GBP39.50 cash and shares offer, that would have valued Shire at GBP23.3 billion.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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