Shire to acquire Jerini

Shire will offer E6.25 per share in cash for all issued Jerini shares valuing the company at E328 million. The acquisition will be funded out of Shire’s current cash resources and is expected to be accretive for non-GAAP earnings by the second half of 2010.

It is anticipated that the offer to Jerini’s shareholders will be open for acceptance until the end of the third quarter of 2008 and is contingent upon the fulfillment of certain customary terms and conditions, including approval by relevant merger control authorities.

In addition, Shire has entered into purchase agreements with members of the management and supervisory boards along with a number of the major institutional shareholders, committing 53% of Jerini’s existing share capital (prior to the capital increase), and in addition is investing E21 million in return for the subscription for newly issued shares which correspond to 9% of Jerini’s increased share capital. This will provide Jerini with sufficient cash to initiate the launch of Firazyr in Europe, which may begin prior to completion of the transaction.

On completion of the acquisition, Shire will conduct a strategic review of Jerini’s other assets including Jerini Ophthalmic, a US subsidiary which is developing a treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration and JPT Peptide Technologies, a peptide manufacturing operation which produces complex synthetic peptides.