Shire Plc, which sells drugs for rare diseases, succumbed to an increased 31 billion pounds ($53 billion) takeover offer from Abbvie Inc on Monday, signaling the conclusion to a lengthy courtship largely motivated by tax benefits.Dublin-based Shire said it would recommend the deal, the latest in a list of mergers proposed by U.S. companies seeking to cut tax rates. It comes less than seven weeks after the collapse of Pfizer Inc's $118 billion bid for AstraZeneca Plc, also motivated in part by tax factors.Chicago-based AbbVie, which also wants to diversify its product lineup, increased the offer to 53.20 pounds per share on Sunday, following a request from Shire after it had rejected four previous bids.Citing people familiar with the matter, Reuters had reported on Saturday that Shire had asked AbbVie to sweeten its offer to near 53 pounds per share in order for it to recommend the deal.
AbbVie Inc. (AbbVie) is a research-based pharmaceuticals company. Shares of ABBV fell by 0.76% or $-0.42/share to $54.54. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $42.25 and as high as $58.27. On average, 5832730 shares of ABBV exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 16821140.
AstraZeneca PLC (AstraZeneca) is a global biopharmaceutical company. Shares of AZN traded higher by 0.27% or $0.2/share to $74.71. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $48.53 and as high as $82.68. On average, 5449850 shares of AZN exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 522416.
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