Davis Polk advised Shire plc on the $12.1 billion SEC-registered debt offering by its wholly owned subsidiary, Shire Acquisitions Investments Ireland DAC (“SAIIDAC”), consisting of $3.3 billion aggregate principal amount of 1.900% senior notes due 2019, $3.3 billion aggregate principal amount of 2.400% senior notes due 2021, $2.5 billion aggregate principal amount of 2.875% senior notes due 2023 and $3 billion aggregate principal amount of 3.200% senior notes due 2026. This was Shire’s inaugural bond offering, and the proceeds will be used to refinance the cash component of the purchase price for Shire’s acquisition of Baxalta Inc. that closed earlier this year.

Shire is the leading global biotechnology company focused on serving people with rare diseases and other highly specialized conditions. Shire strives to develop best-in-class products, many of which are available in more than 100 countries, across core therapeutic areas including hematology, immunology, neuroscience, opthalmics, lysosomal storage disorders, gastrointestinal/internal medicine/endocrine and hereditary angioedema, as well as a growing franchise in oncology. SAIIDAC is a designated activity company organized under the laws of Ireland.

The Davis Polk corporate team included partner John B. Meade and associates Alice Z. Chen, Cameron C. Lewis and Nara Lee. Partner Michael Mollerus and associates Vinay Prabhakar and Elina Khodorkovsky provided tax advice. Counsel David R. Bauer and associates Bonnie Chen and Paul S. Lee provided intellectual property and technology advice. All members of the Davis Polk team are based in the New York office.