Dive Brief:
- AbbVie made another offer to UK-based Shire of $90.87 a share up from $88.39.
- Although Shire rejected the last offer, the company requested talks to discuss the latest bid. During discussions, Shire received the revised cash-and-stock bid.
- The overall bid is valued at $53 billion, and if it goes through, will result in Shire shareholders owning approximately 25% of the combined new company.
Dive Insight:
If the deal goes through—which very well may happen---each share of Shire stock would be worth $41.75 in cash and 0.8950 of the new AbbVie shares. The reason for the merger, according to AbbVie chief executive, Richard Gonzalez, is to “create a global market leader with unique characteristics and a compelling investment thesis.” There are still a few issues to be resolved, but things seem to be moving in the right direction.