Takeda to seek investor approval for Shire take-over next month; shares spike

Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical has announced it expects to complete its $62bn takeover of Shire Pharmaceuticals in early January, sending shares in the FTSE 100 drugs group higher.

Takeda said it would hold an extraordinary general meeting on 5 December and if investors backed the deal, would look to close it around 8 January. Takeda had initially expected to hold the meeting in early 2019, giving markets confidence that the Japanese group is confident of securing shareholder support and that the deal will be able to close sooner than expected.

Shares in Shire rose as much as 3% in early trading, and were ahead 2% at 4,703.5p by midday.

Should the deal go ahead, it will be the biggest-ever overseas acquisition by a Japanese company and significantly increase Takeda’s position in the international drugs market, especially in rare and immune-mediated diseases – Shire’s speciality.

Earlier this month, Shire said product sales had risen 6% to $3.8bn in the third quarter, while total revenues were ahead 5% at $3.9bn.

Takeda, a specialist in oncology, gastroenterology and neuroscience, is already in 70 countries and has had to seek regulatory approval around the world. The tie up has cleared various hurdles in the US and Japan, among other countries, but it is still waiting on approval from regulators in the European Union.