Dublin-based drug maker Shire said to value Baxalta at $32bn

Baxalta jumped to a four-and-a-half-month high yesterday on reports that rival drug maker Shire — the US firm formally based in Ireland — is in advanced talks to acquire it.

Baxalta was up 2.5% in New York at one stage even amid a global rout in the markets. Shire may announce a deal as soon as this week, Bloomberg News reported over the weekend, citing people familiar with the matter.

Reuters had reported before Christmas Shire had made a new acquisition offer for peer Baxalta that is roughly in line with the latter’s valuation expectations, making a deal in the coming weeks likely.