(Bloomberg) -- Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. plans to sweeten its offer for drugmaker Shire Plc to more than $60 billion after a prior bid was rejected, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Takeda is considering boosting its offer to about 47 pounds a share, and may be willing to raise it further, one of the people said, declining to be identified as the deliberations are confidential. A final decision hasn’t been taken, and the talks may yet fall apart, the people said. The companies may discuss the revised proposal in the coming days, they said.
Representatives for Takeda and Shire declined to comment.
Shire on Thursday rejected Takeda’s previous proposal of 46.50 pounds a share, with 62 percent of it in stock. Shire said the terms “significantly under the company and Shire’s growth prospects and pipeline,” but left the door open for further negotiations. A completed deal would be the biggest by a Japanese company of an overseas target, and the combined revenue would place Takeda among the top 10 global pharmaceutical giants.
Shares of Shire declined 4.2 percent to 38.07 pounds as of 2:25 p.m. in London. Its market has jumped to about $49 billion since Takeda announced its interest on March 28, well above the Japanese drugmaker’s $36 billion. Under U.K. takeover rules, Takeda had until April 25 to make a formal offer or walk away.
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