US drugmaker AbbVie’s $63bn (€57bn) tie-up with Allergan is getting help from Nestlé and AstraZeneca buying up products the Irish-domiciled company is shedding to placate regulators.

AbbVie and Shire agreed to terminate what would have been the biggest US tax inversion after AbbVie pulled its support for the deal in the wake of proposed changes to US rules governing such transactions.

US drugmaker AbbVie has pulled the plug on its plan to buy Dublin-based Shire, recommending shareholders vote against the planned $55bn (€42.96bn) takeover after new US tax rules.

US biopharmaceutical firm, AbbVie has agreed to buy rival group, Shire for almost $55bn (€41bn), becoming the latest American healthcare company to shift its tax residence abroad in a record surge in industry deals.

AbbVie has said its $46.5bn (€34.1bn) bid for Shire plc offers "compelling" value for Shire shareholders and that it won’t rule out going hostile in its drive to acquire the drugmaker.