Drug giant Takeda on Tuesday said it would buy Irish pharmaceuticals firm Shire in a deal worth $62.5 billion, in the biggest foreign takeover by a Japanese firm. The deal, which will create one of the world's top 10 drugs companies, caps a lengthy courtship by Takeda of its larger rival as it seeks to expand overseas. Shire last month said its board would recommend the £46 billion bid "subject to satisfactory resolution of the other terms of the possible offer".
And on Tuesday, Takeda announced the boards of the two companies "have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended offer pursuant to which" the Japanese firm will buy Shire. The announcement follows a string of lower offers rejected by Shire over the past month. Analysts have said the buyout would be a smart move by Takeda as it looks to diversify, and could pay off in the long-term, but it has also raised concerns that the Japanese firm could be overextending itself financially.
In a separate statement, it said it would fund the deal with a bridge loan facility of nearly $31 billion. The buyout is the latest in a flurry of merger and acquisition activity in the pharmaceutical industry as traditional players see profits eroded by competition from generic medicines.
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