AbbVie's $1.635B breakup fee to Shire, if paid, will run third highest ever

Breaking up is hard to do, and it can be expensive. AbbVie ($ABBV) is getting into record territory with the $1.635 billion breakup fee it will have to pay Shire ($SHPG) for canceling their $55 billion deal. The Wall Street Journal, citing Dealogic, says it would be the third largest breakup fee ever paid for killing a deal, and only the fourth to top $1 billion. One and two were the $4 billion AT&T paid T-Mobile for a canceled deal and the $1.8 billion Warner Lambert paid American Home products over a failed marriage. The only other to top the billion-dollar mark was a $1.2 billion feel dating to 2008 that was tied to a deal that fell apart over the buyout of Canadian telephone company BCE, The Wall Street Journal reports. Story (sub. req.) | More