The Shire bid Takeda’s been discussing is getting real.
The Japanese drugmakers is gauging creditors’ interest in providing loans that could help it make a bid that tops $40 billion, Reuters’ sources said. And Takeda will need some serious money; it’s looking for tens of billions of dollars’ worth of debt from multiple banks, the news service said, citing Kyodo News.
Among the potential creditors Takeda is consulting is its main bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.
If Takeda wants to swallow Shire, it’s going to have to take a big bite. While industry watchers were initially skeptical the company could pull it off—especially after word that Takeda was weighing a transaction dragged down its shares and sent Shire’s soaring—analysts turned more positive last week after Takeda outlined just how much debt it was willing to take on.
“We think the deal is likely because there is willing buyer, willing sellers and room to meet both sides’ expectations,” Bernstein’s Wimal Kapada wrote to clients, adding that he sees a deal as “more likely than not.”
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for Takeda, which could vault itself into the ranks of the world’s top drugmakers and beef up in the GI and neuroscience arenas if it can swing the Shire buy. Under U.K. takeover rules, the pharma has until April 25 to make a bid or walk away.
By Carly Helfnad
Source: Fierce Pharma
Giovanni Caforio, the former CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb, is set to become the next board chairman of Novartis, which on Tuesday proposed the pharmaceutical industry veteran as its pick to replace Joerg Reinhardt in the role next year. Reinhardt has served as Novartis’ chair since 2013 and plans to retire when his 12-year term ends in 2025.
GE HealthCare has raised the curtain on two ultrasound systems equipped with artificial intelligence programs designed to assist in diagnosing conditions in women’s health, including obstetric exams. The Voluson Signature 20 and 18 imaging systems include AI tools capable of automatically identifying and annotating measurements of fetal anatomy.
Scientists from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Chemistry have revealed a new sustainable method of manufacturing complex molecules that could reduce waste produced during drug production. The method published in Nature Chemistry could help to prevent severe side effects caused by drugs that can exist as enantiomers.
