Takeda Pharmaceutical has agreed to buy Shire for approximately $62 billion (45.3 billion pounds) on the assumption that it wins shareholder backing. This deal will become the Japanese Takeda's largest international purchase and place it into the top 10 rankings of global drugmakers. Takeda had announced its interest in this blockbuster deal back in March and shire had already rejected four previous offers. The deal is 46 percent cash and 54 percent stock.
Because thee size of the deal, Takeda will be one of the most indebted drugmakers and will result in Standard & Poor issuing a warning of a potential credit downgrade. Takeda plans to cut thousands of jobs and cut back on duplicated drug research in order to quickly pay off debt.
The transaction requires two-thirds approval from Takeda shareholders.
Read the full Reuters report