Takeda secures $7.5bn bank loans to help fund Shire deal

Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical has secured the largest ever syndicated bank loan in Asia to help pay for the cash portion of its $46bn acquisition of FTSE 100-listed Shire.

Takeda has entered into a $7.5bn term loan credit agreement with banks JP Morgan Chase, Sumitomo Mitsui, MUFG and Mizuho, with the majority of the funding committed by Japanese institutions.

The loans will be used to fund part of Takeda's cash consideration for its offer for Shire, which was recommended by the Dublin-based company's directors last month but still needs approval from shareholders on both sides, while also reducing commitments under the Japanese drugmaker's bridge facility agreement entered in May.

"We are pleased to have secured the term loan facility with backing from leading global financial institutions, which enables us to successfully de-risk a substantial portion of our bridge facility as we continue to make progress toward completing our proposed acquisition of Shire," said Costa Saroukos, chief financial officer of Takeda.

"This agreement supports our intention to maintain our well-established dividend policy and investment grade rating following closing of the transaction. The heavy demand to participate in the agreement - exceeding our financing need of 7.5bn USD - reflects a strong vote-of-confidence from these leading global financial institutions in Takeda and our strategy to continue generating value for our investors."