(MENAFN- AFP) Shire Pharmaceuticals on Monday ramped up its defences against a £27-billion takeover from US giant AbbVie, outlining plans for "sustainable growth" to more than double sales to $10 billion by 2020.
The firm, which is listed in London and New York but based in Dublin, had last week rejected AbbVie's informal takeover offer that was worth the equivalent of $46 billion or 34 billion euros.
"We have a long range plan that envisages more than doubling product sales from just under $5.0 billion in 2013 to $10 billion by 2020 from the current portfolio," said chief executive Flemming Ornskov.
He expected its marketed drugs to make up 70 percent of those sales, with drugs in its development pipeline accounting for 30 percent.
Shire, which is a specialist in drugs for the treatment of attention-deficit disorder and rare diseases, argues the AbbVie bid fundamentally undervalues the firm.
- Future as 'independent company' -
"The board and I have our sights set on sustainable growth that would continue to deliver substantial shareholder value as an independent company," Ornskov added in a presentation to analysts and investors.
He said: "We are confident that our ambitious team has the capabilities and the platform to drive strong future sales growth and to enhance Shire's leadership position in rare diseases."
The group was meanwhile aiming for annual product sales of $6.5 billion by 2016, while there was "further potential upside" to the targets.
"We have put in place the team and the strategy which have already led to a marked acceleration in product sales over the last 12 months," Ornskov said.
"Furthermore, we have stepped up the efficiency of the business."
Shire repeated its view that management had overhauled its performance over the last year.
AbbVie had last week made a third informal cash-and-shares takeover proposal that was pitched at £46.26 per share.
In late afternoon deals, Shire's share price fell 0.39 percent to £43.54 on London's FTSE 100 index of leading companies, which was down 0.31 percent.
Under British takeover rules, AbbVie has until July 18 to announce a firm offer for Shire.
Shire had last week expressed concern about the proposed structure of the bid, under which it said AbbVie would redomicile in the UK for tax purposes.
- M&A rocks drugs sector -
The pharmaceuticals sector has seen a raft of deal-making in recent months, with US companies looking to Europe as a way to reduce their tax liabilities.
One week ago, US medical-device maker Medtronic agreed to buy Irish-based competitor Covidien for $42.9 billion.
The deal would allow Medtronic to take advantage of Ireland's lower business tax rates - 12.5 percent versus 35 percent in the United States.
AbbVie's blockbuster takeover offer meanwhile comes after Anglo-Swedish group AstraZeneca fought off a $117-billion takeover bid from US giant Pfizer.
Pfizer scrapped its AstraZeneca bid last month, ending to a long-running saga that sparked concern over British jobs and research. Pfizer had also proposed to switch its tax base to Britain from the United States in order to slash its tax bill.
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