Takeda: '$62bn Shire Megamerger Brings Greater Geography and Scale'

After weeks of negotiations, Shire has agreed to a Takeda takeover bid worth US$62 billion. The combined company will consist of over 35 manufacturing sites globally.

Japanese firm Takeda first made a bid for Ireland-headquartered rare diseases biopharmaceutical company Shire in March. After several rebuffed offers, the firms agreed to merge this week in a deal worth $62 billion (€52 billion).

The deal is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. A $32 billion bid for Shire made by AbbVie in 2014 fell through at the eleventh hour.

But if Takeda’s bid is accepted, the joint entity will “have a leading position in two of the largest pharmaceutical markets globally – the United States and Japan – with the geographic footprint and scale to drive future development,” Takeda CEO Christophe Weber wrote in a letter to Shire employees.

“Our strong international presence in emerging markets and Japan will benefit Shire’s portfolio and we will turn benefit from Shire’s strong presence in the US. This will help us become a leader in the industry and allow us to deliver our enhanced product portfolio across a larger, more attractive geographic footprint.”

Manufacturing Network

Takeda boasts of having a manufacturing footprint consisting of 25 plants in 18 countries. This includes production for a range of vaccines and therapies – both large and small molecules – and sites run through joint ventures in China, India, and Indonesia.

The firm is also close to adding a facility in Madrid, Spain dedicated to stem cell therapy manufacture through its $630 million acquisition bid for TiGenix. And Takeda is also in the process of building a facility at a site in Dublin, Ireland to support cell and gene therapies.

The addition of Shire would increase its manufacturing network by another dozen plants.

Shire has legacy operations in Austria, Italy and the US – California and Massachusetts, but its $32 billion takeover of Baxalta in 2016 added a further 13 facilities. Since then it has said it is divesting or closing five facilities including a plasma fractionating plant in Los Angeles, California and an animal health plant in Austria.

Shire is also close to completing a $400 million biologics facility in County Meath, Ireland​.