Holders of the US stock have been noticeably more bullish about the deal than their counterparts on this side of the pond. While Baxalta's share price has soared in the past year, Shire's has seen a 23 per cent drop - with shareholders perhaps a little worried that this time Shire has bitten off more than it can chew. The $32bn (£21.8m) cash-and-shares deal valued Baxalta's shares at a 37 per cent premium to its August share price, and shareholders are set to receive $18 in cash and either 0.15 Shire American depository shares or 0.44 Shire ordinary shares per Baxalta share.
Shire has also had to contend with investor ire over executive pay recently so the deal could provide some much-needed distraction. The company found itself one of several targeted in a recent welling up of shareholder anger and its annual meeting witnessed 49 per cent of shareholders voting against the directors' remuneration report. The big protest vote was fuelled by influential consultancy ISS, which advised shareholders to lodge advisory votes against a fivefold increase in the pay of chief executive Flemming Ornskov at the Dublin annual meeting.
