Shire share price: Shareholders okay tie-up with Baxalta

Shire (LON:SHP) has moved closer to completing its acquisition of US rare disease specialist Baxalta, with the UK pharmco’s shareholders approving the tie-up at a general meeting. The UK group now expects the deal to wrap up early next month, subject to approval by Baxalta’s shareholders and other customary conditions.

Shire’s share price has inched lower in London this morning, having lost 0.30 percent to 4,336.00p as of 10:09 BST. The shares are slightly underperforming the benchmark FTSE 100 index which currently stands 0.07 percent in the red at 6,261.33 points. Shire’s shares have lost about a quarter of their value over the past year, and are down some eight percent in the year-to-date.
Shire announced in a statement this morning that its shareholders had approved proposals relating to its $32-billion combination with Baxalta at a specially-convened general meeting. The completion of the deal now remains in the hands of the US group’s shareholders who are scheduled to vote on the merger later today. Shire noted that it expects the transaction to complete on June 3.

“We are pleased to take this important step toward completing our combination with Baxalta, and are grateful that our shareholders have voiced their support by approving this transaction,” Shire’s chief executive Flemming Ornskov commented in the statement. “The combination will allow us to realise our goal of building the leading global biotechnology company focused on rare diseases and other highly specialised conditions.”
Shire announced its merger with the US blood diseases specialist in January, forecasting that the combination would generate double-digit top-line growth and result in $20 billion in product sales by the end of the decade. The London-listed pharmco has further said that the tie-up would create a global leader in rare diseases with multiple billion-dollar franchises.
As of 10:25 BST, Friday, 27 May, Shire PLC share price is 4,334.50p.

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