Filed by AbbVie Inc.

Pursuant to Rule 425

Under the Securities Act of 1933

Subject Company: Shire plc

Commission File No.: 0-29630

 

AbbVie held an employee meeting on July 30, 2014. An extract of the presentation slides used in the presentation related to the potential Shire plc transaction are below and have been made available for the general public on AbbVie’s website at:

 

http://www.abbvieinvestor.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=251551&p=irol-disclaimer-documents

 



 

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Date Rick Gonzalez Chairman and CEO July 30, 2014

 


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Why a Transaction Like Shire?

 


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Keys to Success and Sustainability Breadth, diversity and leadership in important Therapeutic Areas of medicine Depth and breadth of pipeline Access to global cash flow for long-term strategic investment

 


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Why Shire? Specialty-focused company with a culture similar to ours Two new growth platforms – neuroscience and rare diseases Expands our GI platform; Potential for future ophthalmology platform Increases our pipeline by 50 percent, including increasing our late-stage pipeline in Phase 3 or regulatory review to 16 assets More effective access to global cash The proposed transaction would create a well-positioned and focused very large specialty biopharmaceutical company, with sustainable leadership positions and commitments within areas of unmet need

 


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U.K. Tax Domicile

 


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Next Steps Seeking necessary shareholder and regulatory approvals Merger expected to complete by end of 2014 Business as usual for our 25,000 employees

 


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[LOGO]

 

 


 

No Offer or Solicitation

 

This presentation is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, or an invitation to subscribe for, purchase or exchange, any securities or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction, nor shall there be any sale, issuance, exchange or transfer of the securities referred to in this presentation in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law.

 

Additional Information and Where to Find it

 

In furtherance of the combination, AbbVie Private Limited (“Holdco”) intends to file with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4 containing a Proxy Statement of AbbVie that will also constitute a Prospectus of Holdco relating to the Holdco Shares to be issued to Holdco Stockholders in the combination. In addition, AbbVie, Holdco and Shire may file additional documents with the SEC. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF ABBVIE AND SHIRE ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS, AND OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE TRANSACTION CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Those documents, if and when filed, as well as AbbVie’s and Holdco’s other public filings with the SEC may be obtained without charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, at AbbVie’s website at www.abbvieinvestor.com and at Shire’s website at www.shire.com. It is expected that the Holdco shares to be issued to Shire shareholders under a scheme of arrangement will be issued in reliance upon the exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, provided by Section 3(a)(10) thereof.

 

Participants in the Solicitation

 

AbbVie, its directors and certain of its executive officers may be considered participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Proxy Statement/Prospectus. Information about the directors and executive officers of AbbVie is set forth in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, which was filed with the SEC on February 21, 2014, and its proxy statement for its 2014 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on March 24, 2014. Other information regarding potential participants in the proxy solicitations and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus when it is filed.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

This presentation contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to a combination involving AbbVie and Shire. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project” and similar expressions, among others, generally identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the possibility that necessary regulatory approvals or stockholder approvals will not be obtained or any of the other conditions to the combination will not be satisfied, adverse effects on the market price of AbbVie Shares and on AbbVie’s or Shire’s operating results because of a failure to complete the combination, failure

 



 

to realise the expected benefits of the possible combination, negative effects relating to the announcement of the possible combination or any further announcements relating to the possible combination or the consummation of the possible combination on the market price of AbbVie shares or Shire shares, significant transaction costs and/or unknown liabilities, general economic and business conditions that affect the combined companies following the consummation of the possible combination, changes in global, political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory forces, future exchange and interest rates, changes in tax laws, regulations, rates and policies, future business combinations or disposals and competitive developments. These forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and assessments made in light of AbbVie’s or, as the case may be, Shire’s experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, business strategies, operating environment, future developments and other factors it believes appropriate. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. The factors described in the context of such forward-looking statements in this presentation could cause AbbVie’s plans with respect to Shire, AbbVie’s or Shire’s actual results, performance or achievements, industry results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although it is believed that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct and persons reading this presentation are therefore cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as at the date of this presentation. Additional information about economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect AbbVie is set forth in Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” in AbbVie’s 2013 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which has been filed with the SEC, the contents of which are not incorporated by reference into, nor do they form part of, this presentation. Neither AbbVie nor Shire undertakes any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent events or developments, except as required by law.

 

In accordance with Rule 30.4 of the Takeover Code, a copy of this presentation will be available on AbbVie’s website at www.abbvieinvestor.com.