Shire buys US drugs group ViroPharma for $4.2bn
Shire, the London-listed pharmaceuticals group, has moved to bolster its rare disease portfolio with the acquisition of ViroPharma for $4.2bn. Ireland-domiciled Shire will pay $50 a share in cash for all the outstanding shares of ViroPharma, representing a 27 per cent premium to the Pennsylvania-based company’s closing price on Friday and a 64 per cent premium to the shares before talk of the transaction surfaced in September.
The move is part of the so-called One Shire programme initiated by new chief executive Flemming Ornskov. It emerged last week that the group was discussing substantial cuts among its 170 research scientists at its historic headquarters in Basingstoke. It is also looking at moving its Swiss office from Nyon to Zug and refocusing US operations close to Boston. The ViroPharma transaction adds to Shire’s portfolio Cinryze, a preventive injectable treatment for hereditary angioedema, which causes sudden attacks of swelling. Shire already has an acute treatment for the condition, Firazyr, which can be injected when sufferers sense an imminent attack. Shire expects the addition of Cinryze to its rare disease unit to create a business with revenues of $2bn in 2014, which would represent about 40 per cent of Shire’s sales on a pro forma basis. Mr Ornskov said: “The acquisition of ViroPharma will immediately benefit Shire and is entirely consistent with our clear strategic objective of strengthening our rare disease portfolio. It brings us a new growth driving product which augments our already strong growth prospects.” Shire said the proposed deal, which was still subject to approvals, would generate cost synergies of about $150m by 2015. Shares in Shire opened up 1 per cent at £28.27 in early London trading on Monday.