A bidding war is brewing over $50 billion drugmaker Shire

Reuters

Shire CEO Flemming Ornskov

• Shire rejected Takeda's $60 billion takeover bid on Thursday, and now Allergan's reportedly entering the bidding war.
• The $60 billion bid was a 50% premium to Shire's stock price on March 27, the day before Takeda initially approached Shire.
• Reuters reported Thursday that Allergan is also interested in acquiring Shire, creating a potential bidding war over the $50 billion drugmaker.

Shire rejected Takeda's $60 billion takeover bid, and now Allergan's reportedly looking at getting in on the takeover action.

Reuters reported Thursday that Allergan is in talks to acquire Shire, a $50 billion drugmaker. Shire was up about 11% Thursday on the news. Allergan fell about 3%.

Shire said in a statement that Takeda's $60 billion bid "continues to significantly undervalue the Company and Shire's growth prospects and pipeline."

Shire is known for making ADHD medicine, like Adderall and Vyvanse, and its focus on rare diseases like the blood disorder hemophilia. Takeda, a 300-year-old pharmaceutical Japanese drugmaker, has been working to expand its global footprint, most recently with the $5.2 billion purchase of US cancer drugmaker Ariad Pharmaceuticals in 2017.

Takeda's $60 billion bid was a 50% premium to Shire's stock price on March 27, the day before Takeda approached Shire. It was the third offer Shire's board had received from Takeda.

Takeda said in a statement that it's still having conversations with Shire's board about a potential offer.

"Building on Takeda's existing momentum, the acquisition of Shire would accelerate its transformation and result in a global, value-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical leader headquartered in Japan, with a balanced geographic footprint, a robust, modality-diverse pipeline and enhanced financial strength," Takeda said in a statement.