U.S. drugmaker AbbVie’s shares rose more than 5 percent in aftermarket trading on Thursday after Reuters exclusively reported that it had recently approached London-listed Shire about a potential takeover. The bid was the latest attempt by a U.S. healthcare company to try to buy an overseas rival partly to lower their tax rate.
AbbVie and Shire confirmed the Reuters report overnight, saying Shire had rejected AbbVie’s $46 billion bid as too low. Shire’s shares rose more than 15 percent when they started trading in London the next morning.
