Shire’s £3bn buyout of US pharma giant

DRUGS giant Shire has agreed a £3.2bn knockout bid to buy NPS Pharmaceuticals, a US biotech firm specialising in rare diseases.

Britain’s third largest drugmaker will use a £1bn windfall from its failed sale to US firm AbbVie to part fund what is its biggest acquisition to date.

Shire was first linked to NPS early last year but both sides had said they were not in talks at that time.

The takeover is the latest in a string of attempted deals t hat have swept through the pharmaceuticals sector. Companies have been jockeying for promis- ing assets as a wave of new drugs emerge from research laboratories.

Last May, US Viagramaker Pfizer failed with a £69bn offer to get its hands on AstraZeneca, in a deal deemed to undervalue the British drugs giant.

The NPS takeover will give Shire two significant new drugs: Gattex, a treatment for short-bowel syndrome, which i s already on the market, and Natpara, a hormone treatment that addresses a condition known as hypoparathyroidism, which is awaiting approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.

The all-cash deal will see Shire pay $ 46 per NPS share, which is a 10pc premium to its Friday close.

Shire has secured a £530m bank loan which, together with cash reserves and an existing £ 1.3bn five- year credit facility, will pay for the deal.

Shire’s chief executive, Flemming Ornskov, said: ‘The acquisition of NPS Pharma is a significant step in advancing Shire’s strategy to become a leading biotechnology company.’

Just seven months ago Basingstoke-based Shire, best known for its drugs to treat attention deficit disorder, agreed to an approach by AbbVie.

It was the latest so-called tax inversion which would have seen the combined company domiciled in the UK in a move taking advantage of a lower corporate tax rate. But the deal collapsed because changes in US tax law made the purchase less attractive. This triggered the £1bn break-up fee which has been used to fuel the NPS deal.

Francois Nader, chief executive of NPS Pharma, said: ‘Shire shares NPS Pharma’s commitment to patients with rare diseases. We believe that joining our two companies will drive value for shareholders and ensure we continue to transform the lives of patients worldwide.

‘I am confident that this transaction will accelerate our ambition of creating a world where every person living with a rare disease has a therapy.’