UPDATE: AbbVie (ABBV) Poised to Announce Better Offer for Shire (SHPG)

(Updated - July 17, 2014 2:26 PM EDT)

AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) poised to announce £31 billion deal for Shire (Nasdaq: SHPG), according to the Financial Times.

UPDATE - The offer might come as soon as Friday morning.

Sources told FT that the two sides were close following a week of sometimes heated negotiations. Shire said it was willing to recommend a £53.20 per share offer to investors.

One of the sticking points has been Shire's demand for a large breakup fee from AbbVie. The worry is that U.S. is cracking down on tax inversions, or when a U.S.-based company moves its domicile offshore to avert larger tax burdens. AbbVie is based in Chicago, Ill., while Shire resides in Dublin, Ireland.

The deal is valued at around $53 billion according to current exchange rates. It wasn't made clear whether more cash or stock will be made with the new bid.

Shares of Shire are up 1.3 percent after trading in negative territory ahead of the news Thursday.

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