Adderall-maker Shire jumps on buyout interest by Takeda

Shire, best known in the U.S. as the maker of Adderall, surged on Wednesday after Japanese rival Takeda said it is considering a takeover offer of the Irish drugmaker. 

Shire's (SHPG) shares rose 21 percent to 37.10 pounds in London, putting the company's market value at 33.7 billion pounds ($47.2 billion). The combined business could be worth as much as $90 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. The shares were also indicated to open higher in trading in New York. 

Takeda said in a statement that buying Shire would enhance its R&D and its reach into the U.S., where Shire has a big presence. It said its consideration for a takeover "is at a preliminary and exploratory stage and no approach has been made to the board of Shire."

Ireland-based Shire operates its U.S. base from Lexington, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. Two-thirds of its sales stem from the U.S., where it's known for neuroscience drugs such as Adderall, used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

But Shire also focuses on rare diseases, a field that has become of increasing interest to pharmaceutical companies as patents on established drugs expire and competition from generic versions increases.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. has, like many Japanese companies, been expanding overseas to compensate for slowing growth at home. Last year it bought Ariad Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is valued at about $41.6 billion and makes almost half of its sales in Asia, and about a third in the U.S.