A pot sweetened by nearly $10 billion in recent weeks has persuaded the board of directors for Shire, a global pharmaceutical company with U.S. headquarters in Wayne, to change its mind on a takeover by Chicago-based AbbVie Inc.

Heavily resistant when the asking price was $46.5 billion, the Shire board finally voted to stamp its approval on a fifth offer valued at $54.8 billion, with the final say now up to shareholders. They stand to receive $91.07 per share and control 25 percent of the merged entity.

AbbVie leaders have advocated that their company’s “global infrastructure across more than 170 countries — which includes existing commercial, regulatory and medical affairs, and market-access capabilities” would give Shire products much wider penetration and scale, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal’s coverage of the deal.

AbbVie has aggressively pursued Shire for an acquisition that would allow it to move its headquarters to a British island in order to pay less in corporate taxes.

Read more about the new development in the ongoing takeover saga in the Philadelphia Business Journal here. Previous Chesco Business Today coverage of AbbVie’s proposals can be found here, here, here and here.