Exhibit 99.1
| Press Release | |
| www.shire.com | |
March 5, 2009 - - Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company
Notification of major interests in shares
1. Identity of the issuer or the underlying issuer of existing shares to which voting rights are attached:
Shire plc
| 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 | |
| |
| 3. Full name of person(s) subject to the notification obligation: | Legal & General Group Plc (L&G) (LGIM) |
| 4. Full name of shareholder(s) (if different from 3.): | Legal & General Assurance (Pensions Management) Limited (PMC) |
5. Date of the transaction (and date on which the threshold is crossed or reached if different): | 2 March 2009 |
| 6. Date on which issuer notified: | 4 March 2009 |
| 7. Threshold(s) that is/are crossed or reached: | From 4% - 3% (L&G) |
| 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 |
ORD GBP 0.05 | 23,985,756 (ORD) | 23,985,756 (ORD) | 22,346,618 (ORD) | 22,346,618 (ORD) | | 3.988 | |
| ADR | 7,299 (ADR) | 21,897 (ADR) | 7,299 | 21,897 | | 0.003 | |
Registered in Jersey, No. 99854, 22 Grenville Street, St Helier, Jersey JE4 8PX
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 |
| 22,368,515 | 3.99 |
9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or the financial instruments are
effectively held, if applicable:
| Legal & General Group Plc (Direct and Indirect) (Group) | |
| | |
| Legal & General Investment Management (Holdings) Limited (LGIMH) (Direct and Indirect) | |
| | |
| Legal & General Investment Management Limited (Indirect) (LGIM) | |
| |
Legal & General Group Plc (Direct) (L&G) (22,368,515 – 3.99% = LGAS, LGPL & PMC) |
| |
Legal & General Investment Management (Holdings) Limited (Direct) (LGIMHD) (20,092,099 – 3.58% = PMC) | Legal & General Insurance Holdings Limited (Direct) (LGIH) |
| | |
Legal & General Assurance (Pensions Management) Limited (PMC) (20,092,099 – 3.58% = PMC) | Legal & General Assurance Society Limited (LGAS & LGPL) |
| | |
| | Legal & General Pensions Limited (Direct) (LGPL) |
Proxy Voting:
| 10. Name of the proxy holder: | N/A |
| 11. Number of voting rights proxy holder will cease to hold: | N/A |
| 12. Date on which proxy holder will cease to hold voting rights: | N/A |
| 13. Additional information: | Notification using the total voting rights figures of 560,222,583 |
| 14. Contact name: | Helen Lewis (LGIM) |
| 15. Contact telephone number: | 020 3124 3851 |
Contact at Shire plc: Tony Guthrie, Deputy Company Secretary, 01256 894746
For further information please contact:
| Investor Relations | Cléa Rosenfeld (Rest of the World) | +44 1256 894 160 |
| | Eric Rojas (North America) | +1 617 551 9715 |
Notes to editors
SHIRE PLC
Shire’s strategic goal is to become the leading specialty biopharmaceutical company that focuses on meeting the needs of the specialist physician. Shire focuses its business on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), human genetic therapies (HGT) and gastrointestinal (GI) diseases as well as opportunities in other therapeutic areas to the extent they arise through acquisitions. Shire’s in-licensing, merger and acquisition efforts are focused on products in specialist markets with strong intellectual property protection and global rights. Shire believes that a carefully selected and balanced portfolio of products with strategically aligned and relatively small-scale sales forces will deliver strong results.
For further information on Shire, please visit the Company’s website: www.shire.com.
