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Swiss biotech Actelion hits record high on potential Shire bid

Shares in Actelion , Europe's biggest biotech company, jumped 10 percent to a record high on Monday after a report Shire was considering a $19 billion takeover of the Swiss group to boost its rare diseases business. Shire, which is based in Ireland but has most operations in the United States, is a serial acquirer in a consolidating healthcare sector, which has seen a record $253 billion of deals so far this year. An informal approach by Shire was rebuffed several weeks ago by Actelion, according to Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, citing unidentified financial industry sources.