London — Shire, the London-listed rare diseases specialist that is a potential takeover target for Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical, is selling its oncology business to unlisted French drug maker Servier for $2.4bn. The deal suggests there is value locked up within Shire’s portfolio — despite a dismal share price performance in the past two years — as its management braces for a possible $50bn bid battle with Japan’s biggest drugmaker. Shire said it would consider returning proceeds from the sale to shareholders through a buy-back and that further selective disposals of nonstrategic assets were possible. The divestment of the cancer business may be a deterrent for Takeda, since oncology was one of the areas it had highlighted as driving the case for a Shire deal, along with gastrointestinal medicine and neuroscience. Still, given the small contribution of the cancer business to Shire’s overall profits, Deutsche Bank analysts said this was unlikely to be a deal breaker. A Takeda spokesm...
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