Shire (SHPG) has announced an offer to buy Baxalta (BXLT), a rare disease treatment specialist based in the U.S., for around $30.6 billion in stock. Baxalta was spun off from Baxter International (BAX) just over a month ago and is currently working on new hematology, immunology and gene therapy treatments.The acquisition comes as Shire looks to continue its push into the biotech space after pharmaceutical giant Abbvie (ABBV) walked away from a merger with the company last year. Shire CEO Flemming Ornskov said in a press release on Tuesday, ‘together, the companies would be projected to deliver $20 billion in product sales by 2020, with the financial and operational firepower to fuel further innovation and growth in rare diseases.’ He added, ‘We believe the proposed combination of Shire and Baxalta would be strategically and financially attractive for both of our companies, accelerating our respective growth ambitions and creating the leading global biotech company in rare diseases.’ Reports suggest that Ornsky went public with the bid only after the Baxalta board failed to engage in takeover discussions. Shares of Baxalta were up around 13 percent on the news while Shire’s stock price dropped.
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