Shire sells oncology unit to France’s Servier for $2.4bn
Oncology is a key draw for Takeda, which has been considering a bid for Shire
Shire has struck a deal to sell its oncology business for $2.4bn in cash to a French pharmaceutical group, complicating the position with Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical which said last month that it was considering a bid for the Irish drugmaker.
Oncology was one of the key areas identified by Takeda as driving the rationale for a tie-up between the Japanese group and the FTSE 100 company. Takeda said a deal between the two would help strengthen its core therapeutic areas of oncology, gastronenterology and neuroscience, as well as adding Shire’s rare disease franchise to the package.
Since then no offer for Shire has been forthcoming, but Takeda has just over a week to make its intentions clear, either by making a firm offer for the company or by downing pens for six months.
News of the potential takeover bid sent the London-listed drugmaker’s shares surging at the end of March; since then they have held relatively steady between £36 and £37 a share. Monday’s announcement sent Shire’s shares 1.6 per cent higher at £36.63.
Cash raised by the oncology business sale to Servier would help “increase optionality”, Shire said on Monday. But it added that “after the current offer period regarding Takeda’s possible offer for Shire concludes”, it would consider returning the proceeds of the sale to shareholders through a buyback.
Shire said its board of directors started exploring the sale of its oncology business in December, before kicking off the sale process in January. That process had “identified multiple strategic buyers across the US, Europe and Japan,” it said.