Baxter (NYSE:BAX) said today that its raising the size of its offer to exchange its own shares for those of its Baxalta (NYSE: BXLT) pharmaceuticals spinout ahead of its acquisition by Shire (NSDQ:SHPGY).
Baxter cut its stake in Baxalta in January from 19.4% to 13.8%. In March, Deerfield, Ill.-based Baxter exchanged about 59.4 million Baxalta shares at $39.40 apiece, leave it with 34.9 million BXLT shares.
The latest exchange was originally planned to for 12.8 million shares of Baxter’s remaining Baxalta stake, but is now expected to be for nearly 13.4 million BXLT shares, Baxter said. Investors will receive $100 worth of Baxalta stock for every $100 worth of BAX shares tendered. The offer is due to expire May 18, the company said.
In January, Shire agreed to buy Baxalta for about $32 billion after a 6-month courtship.
