Shire appears to be inching towards an agreement with Baxalta, of the United States, the producer of specialist treatments for cancer and haemophilia that the Dublin-based pharmaceuticals company has been trying to buy since last summer.
An initial approach, offering only Shire shares, was rejected by Baxalta in July. This valued its stock at $45.23 at the time. It has been reported since then that the Irish company has sweetened its offer by throwing in a cash element, said to be worth $8 billion.
A report at the weekend suggested that the two were close to agreeing a price, said to be between $46.50 to $48 for each Baxalta share, valuing the business at about $32 billion.
Shire refused to comment on the latest update,