EXHIBIT 99.02
| | Hampshire International Business Park Chineham Basingstoke Hampshire RG24 8EP United Kingdom Tel +44 (0)1256 894000 Fax +44 (0)1256 894708 www.shire.com | | |
| | | | |
| | Press Release | | |
Notification of major interests in shares
16 April 2007
1. Identity of the issuer or the underlying issuer of existing shares to which voting rights are attached:
Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY, TSX: SHQ)
| 2. Reason for the notification | State Yes/No |
| An acquisition or disposal of voting rights | Yes |
An acquisition or disposal of financial instruments which may result in the acquisition of shares already issued to which voting rights are attached | |
| An event changing the breakdown of voting rights | |
| Other (please specify): | |
| 3. Full name of person(s) subject to the notification obligation: | Dr. Barry Price
(proxy holder) |
| 4. Full name of shareholder(s) (if different from 3.): | Shareholders appointing Dr. Barry Price
as discretionary
proxy holder |
5. Date of the transaction (and date on which the threshold is crossed or reached if different): | 14 April 2007 |
| 6. Date on which issuer notified: | 16 April 2007 |
| 7. Threshold(s) that is/are crossed or reached: | 22% |
| 8. Notified details: | |
A: Voting rights attached to shares
Class/type of shares if possible using the ISIN CODE | Situation previous to the Triggering transaction | Resulting situation after the triggering transaction |
| | Number of Shares | Number of Voting Rights | Number of shares | Number of voting rights | % of voting rights |
| | | | Direct | Direct | Indirect | Direct | Indirect |
| | 31,350 | 31,350 | 122,308,855 | 31,350 | 122,277,505 | 0.06 | 22.98 |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
B: Financial Instruments
Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
Type of financial instrument | Expiration date | Exercise/Conversion Period/ Date | Number of voting rights that may be acquired if the instrument is exercised/converted | % of voting rights |
| | | | | |
| Total (A+B) | |
| Number of voting rights | % of voting rights |
| 122,308,855 | 22.04 |
9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or the financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable:
Proxy Voting:
| 10. Name of the proxy holder: | Dr. Barry Price |
| 11. Number of voting rights proxy holder will cease to hold: | 122,277,505 |
| 12. Date on which proxy holder will cease to hold voting rights: | 17 April 2007 |
| 13. Additional information: | When proxy expires, % of voting rights will return to the shareholders that appointed Dr. Barry Price as discretionary proxy |
| 14. Contact name: | Vivienne Hemming, Deputy Company Secretary Shire plc |
| 15. Contact telephone number: | + 44 1256 894276 |
Annex Notification Of Major Interests In Shares
| A: Identity of the person or legal entity subject to the notification obligation |
| Full name (including legal form for legal entities) | |
| Contact address (registered office for legal entities) | |
| Phone number | |
| Other useful information (at least legal representative for legal persons) | |
B: Identity of the notifier, if applicable |
| Full name | Dr. Barry Price |
| Contact address | Shire plc Hampshire International Business Park, Chineham Basingstoke Hampshire RG24 8EP |
| Phone number | +44 1256 894 276 |
| Other useful information (e.g. functional relationship with the person or legal entity subject to the notification obligation) | Dr. Barry Price is a Senior Non Executive Director of Shire plc |
C: Additional information |
| This notification is being made because Dr. Barry Price, as Chairman of the meeting has been granted discretionary proxy for the EGM held on 16 April 2007. |
For further information please contact:
Investor Relations | Cléa Rosenfeld (Rest of the World) | +44 1256 894 160 |
| | Eric Rojas (North America) | +1 484 595 8252 |
Notes to editors
SHIRE PLC
Shire’s strategic goal is to become the leading specialty pharmaceutical company that focuses on meeting the needs of the specialist physician. Shire focuses its business on attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), human genetic therapies (HGT), gastrointestinal (GI) and renal diseases. The structure is sufficiently flexible to allow Shire to target new therapeutic areas to the extent opportunities arise through
acquisitions. Shire believes that a carefully selected portfolio of products with a strategically aligned and relatively small-scale sales force will deliver strong results.
Shire’s focused strategy is to develop and market products for specialty physicians. Shire’s in-licensing, merger and acquisition efforts are focused on products in niche markets with strong intellectual property protection either in the US or Europe.
For further information on Shire, please visit the Company’s website: www.shire.com.
Registered in England 2883758 Registered Office as above
