Equiniti is delighted to have completed the settlement of Shire’s acquisition by Takeda, breaking multiple records as the biggest corporate action in Japanese history.
Takeda is the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan and has acquired Irish-based biotechnology business Shire, which was listed on the London Stock Exchange, for £46Bn in cash and shares. The transaction and the settlement to shareholders was completed on 22nd January 2019.
The transaction was one of the most complex cross-border schemes of arrangement ever completed, particularly around the collection of shareholders instructions. This included electing for Sterling or Dollar cash consideration, and/or shares in Takeda held in either a Japanese Securities Depository (utilising a Japanese custodian facilitated by Equiniti), or in American Depository Shares in the Depository Trust Company.
In addition to these election instructions, shareholders could opt for their new Takeda shares to be held in the US in the Direct Register format or in the UK in the form of CREST Depository Interest.
A settlement mechanism of this type, with its unprecedented complexity, required the creation of a fiduciary arrangement involving Equiniti, Shire and Takeda’s financial adviser.
As part of Equiniti’s bespoke service, Gavin Lane, Senior Operations Director, and Jon McLean, Senior Manager of Corporate Advice, visited Tokyo in September 2018 to support and advise Takeda and Shire on the technical elements of the settlement mechanics.
Gavin Lane, Senior Operations Director at Equiniti, commented,
“We are delighted to have assisted Takeda with their takeover of Shire. Our industry leading corporate action team has managed and delivered a pedigree service throughout, in line with our reputation as the most experienced administrator for executing highly complex, global transactions.”
“We are very pleased to serve Takeda as a new Equiniti client and very much look forward to working with them.”
ENDS
For more information:
Temple Bar Advisory
Alex Child-Villiers / William Barker / Sam Livingstone
Tel: 0207 002 1080
Email: equiniti@templebaradvisory.com
Notes to Editor:
Equiniti Group plc is a specialist administrator delivering technology-enabled solutions to some of the
world’s best-known brands and the UK’s largest public-sector organisations.
It is the UK’s leading provider of share registration, employee share plans and associated investor
services. The Group also has market-leading positions in pension administration and software, as well
as employee benefit schemes.
Equiniti’s services, which are delivered by over 5,000 employees, benefit 28 million people in the UK
and 120 countries around the world.
Equiniti’s technical team of experts hold combined experience of over 300 years in managing highprofile
corporate actions. These include some of the largest ever deals in the UK such as the merger
of BG Group, Royal Dutch Shell and the £12.2Bn Old Mutual Managed Separation, including the
demerger of Quilter.