Shire mulling Takeda's latest bid

Shire plc (LSE:SHP; NASDAQ:SHPG) said Friday its board is considering a fourth takeover bid from Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4502). On Thursday, Shire said it had rejected Takeda's third offer (see BioCentury Extra, April 19).

Takeda's latest offer remains at £44 billion ($62.7 billion) -- the same as its third -- but the company has enlarged the cash component in its proposal...