The board of London-listed pharmaceutical firm Shire has confirmed it has entered "detailed" discussions with US firm AbbVie after receiving an improved takeover offer of £31.3bn.
Shire said it was ready to recommend a deal which would value it at £53.20 per share - a rise of more than £2 per share on its last bid less than a week ago.
Under the terms of the cash and stock offer AbbVie, which wants to buy Shire to cut its tax bill and diversify its product line-up, would own 75% of the new entity - giving Shire investors a greater stake than the 24% previously proposed.
Dublin-based Shire, which makes drugs to treat rare diseases, had rejected four earlier offers and asked AbbVie to sweeten its bid in order to recommend an agreement to its shareholders.
Discussions are now taking place in an effort to finalise a deal ahead of a Friday deadline while Shire's share price hit a new record high on news of the apparently imminent deal.
AbbVie's pursuit of Shire comes just weeks after AstraZeneca fought off takeover interest worth £69bn from US drugs giant Pfizer.
It would give AbbVie an opportunity to reduce its tax bill by shifting its tax base from the US to the UK, where corporate tax rates are significantly lower.
The company is also under pressure to secure new products as it currently gets nearly 60% of its revenue from rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira, the world's top-selling medicine, which loses US patent protection in late 2016.
Professor John Lyon of Warwick Business School said of the likely deal: "Shire may be headquartered in Dublin but it is managed from Boston where most of its medicines are sold.
"It is well known for targeting rare diseases with its medicines where accelerated drug development pathways are sometimes available once an orphan drug status is agreed with the regulatory bodies.
"This is a similar situation to the Pfizer/AstraZeneca attempted transaction, but in this case, the price looks good and the diversification makes sense where global reach is required in the pharma market.
"Maybe this will be the norm for the future - the key being to obtain a fair price and to develop a portfolio of products that fit well together".
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