AbbVie, Shire abandon the altar

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) and Shire plc (LSE:SHP; NASDAQ:SHPG) on Monday agreed to terminate their proposed acquisition, less than a week after the pharma said it was reconsidering the deal. AbbVie must now pay Shire a $1.6 billion breakup fee, and investors still holding out hope for an eventual deal now will have to wait a year under U.K. law.

Shire accepted AbbVie's sweetened L31.4 billion ($53.8 billion) buyout offer on July 18. But on Oct. 16, the pharma said it was reconsidering due to the U.S. Department of Treasury's proposed rule changes to remove the benefits of tax inversions. ...