Shire Plc and U.S. drugmaker Abbvie Inc plan to announce a $53 billion merger as soon as Friday morning, two people said on Thursday.Dublin-based Shire, which sells drugs for rare diseases, said earlier this week it was ready to recommend a deal to shareholders after AbbVie increased its offer.AbbVie, which is based in Chicago and makes top-selling arthritis drug Humira, boosted its bid for Shire to 53.20 pounds per share on Sunday. Shire has rejected four previous bids.The people cautioned the deal could still take longer to complete and the deadline for an offer could be extended.
AbbVie Inc. (AbbVie) is a research-based pharmaceuticals company. Shares of ABBV fell by 0.24% or $-0.13/share to $53.52. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $42.25 and as high as $58.27. On average, 6589790 shares of ABBV exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 18660008.
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