Deals
Shire's $2.4 Billion Cancer-Unit Sale Sweetens Takeda Appeal
- Divestment, share buyback may both increase attractiveness
- Oncology accounted for about 1.8 percent of Shire’s 2017 sales
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Shire Plc agreed to sell its cancer unit to France’s Servier SAS for $2.4 billion, tightening the U.S.-based drugmaker’s focus on rare diseases and potentially making it more attractive to Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. as it considers a bid.
The Shire unit sells treatments for leukemia and pancreatic cancer, the Lexington, Massachusetts-based company said in a statement Monday. The drugmaker said its board will consider using proceeds for a stock buyback after Takeda decides whether to go through with its contemplated offer.