Shire on the slide as revived $32 billion Baxalta bid fails to impress

Drug giant Shire faced renewed scepticism over a $32 billion (£21.7 billion) bid for US rival Baxalta after it revived the deal by throwing $8 billion of cash into the mix.

Shareholders of Shire — which makes ADHD drug Adderall — gave the pharmaceutical M&A merry-go-round the thumbs down, forcing shares down almost 3% from 4698p to 4572p, after baulking at its second attempt to clinch a deal for Baxalta.

Dublin-based Shire is reportedly lining up an offer of between $46.50 and $48 per share for the US firm, with 25% in cash and the rest in stock. Its previous approach in August of $45.23 per share was rebuffed.

A purchase would be the fourth takeover made by Shire, led by chief executive Flemming Ornskov, in the past 12 months. It bought NPS Pharma for $5.3 billion last January, Foresight Biotherapeutics for $300 million in August and Dyax for $5.9 billion in November amid a flurry of pharma takeovers.