Shire CEO Flemming Ornskov was preparing for a meeting in Chicago on the integration of his company with AbbVie when he got the news that AbbVie was reconsidering the $52bn (€40bn) takeover.

Chicago-based AbbVie has said it is reconsidering its $55bn (€43.4bn) takeover of Shire weeks after the US government moved to curb deals designed to reduce tax, wiping $13bn off the London-listed firm’s stock price.

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 Inc moved a step closer to buying Shire Plc after the Dublin-based company said it is willing to back a fifth offer of £31.4bn (€39.4bn) just four days before the deadline to strike a deal.

Shire Plc reported a 20% increase in first-quarter earnings per share as doctors prescribed more Vyvanse, a pill for ADHD that it expects will bring in more than $1bn (€762m) this year.

SHIRE chief executive Angus Russell said he understands why Sanofi-Aventis SA may buy Genzyme, his biggest rival in producing drugs for rare genetic diseases.

Somali government troops backed by Ethiopians today prepared to launch a major assault on the last stronghold of Islamic movement militiamen.

Somalia's Islamic radicals resisted an attack by pro-government forces to recapture a vital seaport.

The Scorecard, July 12