Shire PLC has agreed to sell its oncology business to French drugmaker Servier for $2.4 billion, in a deal that could discourage Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. from launching a takeover of the London-listed company.
Takeda said in March it was considering a bid for Shire and identified its oncology business as one of the main reasons for its interest. A pursuit of Shire would be one of the biggest attempts by a Japanese company to buy a Western rival.
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