Japan’s Takeda sweetens offer for Shire

THE Japanese drug maker Takeda has upped its offer to buy Irish rival Shire for a fourth time, pushing its bid to £42.8bn.

The latest cash-and-shares approach is valued at £47 per share in Shire – just 50p above the level that was rejected by it on Thursday on a tumultuous day for the FTSE 100 firm. It is unclear whether the small rise in the offer price will be enough to persuade Shire after it told investors on Thursday that the previous £46.50 per share bid from Takeda “significantly undervalued the company”.

Takeda has sweetened its deal by upping the cash component. The latest offer comprises £21 in cash and £26 of Takeda shares, compared to a previous £17.75 to £28.75 split.

Last night, Shire said that it was considering the latest offer and would issue a statement later.

The group’s shares fell

3.9pc to £38.22.

Shire has become the subject of fevered City speculation about a potential bidding war, after New York listed Allergan emerged as another potential bidder on Thursday, before quickly backing off hours later.

Despite the swift aboutturn by Botox maker Allergan, analysts believe further bids are likely as they say Shire’s stock is undervalued relative to its earnings.

Shire’s lucrative portfolio of highly profitable medicines for rare diseases could tempt another bidder. However, Takeda may struggle to significantly raise its offer if it is rebuffed again, as analysts have pointed out it would need to take on a large amount of debt.

Any tie-up could create a global pharmaceutical powerhouse with close to £22bn of annual sales, roughly equivalent in size to Britain’s Astrazeneca.