AbbVie Tell Shire Employees: The Merger Will Go On
AbbVie Inc.’s chief executive has sought to quash any doubts that AbbVie would go through with its acquisition of Shire PLC in the wake of the Treasury’s proposed changes to U.S. inversion rules.
In recent days, AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez told Shire employees — or “colleague[s]” as he called them — that the $54 billion acquisition will proceed.
“I’m more energized than ever about our two companies coming together,” Mr. Gonzalez wrote in a memo released by AbbVie Monday. “I’m happy to say I’m more confident than ever about the potential of our combined organizations now that I’ve had a chance to meet with many of you.”
The memo said that Mr. Gonzalez had met with Shire employees in Chicago and Lexington, Mass. recently. He said in the letter that AbbVie and Shire will be busy in the next few months with “integration planning.”
Meanwhile, AbbVie’s vice president for enterprise strategies Chris Turek, sent a letter to its employees stating that the companies “aims for a fourth-quarter close.” He wrote about day one plans “so that we may begin implementing key tasks in order to ensure business continuity on Day One.”
Both AbbVie and Shire’s shares dropped 1% Monday. AbbVie’s shares are down slightly from their closing price ahead of the Treasury’s announcement, while Shire’s shares are up about 1.5% in the same time period.
Here’s a copy of the letter released to Shire employees:
Subject: An Inspiring Visit
Dear Shire Colleague,
I had the wonderful opportunity last week to sit down and meet with many of you – both in Chicago for the Integration Team Planning Kickoff Meeting, and in Lexington, when I was able to visit your offices.
I wanted to send a note saying that I’m more energized than ever about our two companies coming together, especially because I can already see many shared traits and values in the people at AbbVie and Shire. We have similar cultures that will strengthen the opportunities we have together.
Colleagues at both companies are focused on one thing – helping people. At AbbVie, we call that making a remarkable impact in people’s lives. We’re committed to science, to R&D and to increasing our knowledge of biology and the current standards of care. And it’s all for the same purpose – to advance those standards and improve the care of patients the world over.
When we first considered Shire joining together with AbbVie it was because we saw the opportunity to lead and grow in important therapeutic areas. It was also because we saw a complementary pipeline that would be positioned to enhance innovation.
But more than that, we saw people who shared our vision. I’m happy to say I’m more confident than ever about the potential of our combined organizations now that I’ve had a chance to meet with many of you.
We have a very busy few months ahead as we work on integration planning. It’s more important than ever to keep focused on our business priorities. Meeting our objectives as individual companies will only make our combined organization that much stronger.
Thank you for your continued support and commitment. I look forward to working with you much more closely in the near future. I will continue to keep you updated as events unfold during this very exciting time, and remember, you can always access the announcements and materials regarding the transaction by visiting our microsite.
Best regards,
Rick
Here’s AbbVie’s letter to its employees:
Dear Colleagues,
Last week AbbVie and Shire colleagues attended a joint integration planning meeting, as we aim for a fourth-quarter close.
The meeting was an opportunity for AbbVie and Shire counterparts to meet in person and learn more about each other’s organizations in preparation for a successful Day One. The key objectives of the meeting were to begin building relationships with one another and provide a common understanding of the integration planning strategy. Our focus right now is on high-priority items and Day One must-haves. Post-close, we will concentrate on remaining requirements in a coordinated manner until we are fully integrated.
At the meeting, participants heard from Rick Gonzalez and Flemming Ornskov, Shire’s chief executive officer, to learn more about each company. Functional team leads from both companies worked together to create Day One functional integration plans and identified potential issues, dependencies requiring coordination and additional areas of opportunity. These plans are the foundation to support all areas of integration planning needs and opportunities going forward. Teams will finalize Day One plans by mid-October so that we may begin implementing key tasks in order to ensure business continuity on Day One.
In addition, last week Rick Gonzalez, Tim Richmond and I had the opportunity to visit Shire’s offices in Lexington, Massachusetts to meet with many of our future colleagues and take a tour of one of their plants.
Following these meetings, it’s clear that we have many shared traits and values as well as similar cultures. Both companies have a strong commitment to the patient and both integration planning teams are committed to successful preparation for Day One.
We will continue to communicate key information and updates from the AbbVie Transition Office (ATO) as we move forward in the planning process and remember, you can always access the announcements and materials regarding the transaction by visiting the microsite. In the meantime, should you have any questions/comments, please contact your function’s team lead as your primary contact or from the ATO: Rachel Strick, director, program management, Kelly Ingold, controller, or Matt Johnson, vice president.
Best regards,
Chris Turek
Vice President, Enterprise Strategies