Following our earlier article, we analyse the latest Abbvie-Shire news that an announcement is expected of a £31bn bid, and what has happened since our recent assessment of this US takeover bid for one of the UK’s most valued growth companies.
Comparison with the Pfizer/Astra Zeneca approach
AbbVie have been a little less aggressive than Pfizer, though they have been dealing with an arguably more pragmatic board at Shire. The Shire board was seen to be reluctant to open its books to AbbVie at the initial bid price, £46.26, as they would then have had to be prepared to open them to other potential bidders.
However, in his enthusiasm the AbbVie CEO overstepped…