8-K

UNITED STATES 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

Washington, D.C. 20549 

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):  January 12, 2007

Shire plc

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

England and Wales

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)

0-29630	98-0484822
(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)

Hampshire International Business Park, Chineham, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG24 8EP England

(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code	44 1256 894 000

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2.):

o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 8.01. Other Events

     Shire plc has issued the press release attached as Exhibit 99.01 which is incorporated by reference herein.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits

	(c)	Exhibits. The following exhibit is filed herewith:
99.01		Press Release dated January 12, 2007

SIGNATURE

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

SHIRE PLC
By:	/s/ A C Russell
	Name:	Angus Russell
	Title:	Chief Financial Officer

Dated: January 12, 2007

EXHIBIT INDEX

Number	Description
99.01	Press Release dated January 12, 2007

EX-99.01

	EXHIBIT 99.01
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

12 January 2007

Shire plc (the “Company”)

The Company announces that it was notified on 10 January 2007 under Sections 198 to 203 of the Companies Act that, at close of business on 5 January 2007, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., was interested in 19,760,907 ordinary shares of £0.05p each in the capital of the Company. This holding represents 3.90 per cent of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company.

Of these 19,760,907 shares:

a)	The interest in 1,934,460 shares arose from the interest held by Goldman, Sachs & Co. (“GS&Co.”), a wholly owned direct subsidiary of GS Inc., acting as custodian for its customers.
b)	The interest in 6,313,776 shares arose from a beneficial interest held by Goldman Sachs International (“GSI”), a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of GS Inc.
c)	The interest in 11,375,634 shares arose from the interest held by GS&Co., acting as custodian of 3,791,878 American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”).
d)	The interest in 45,513 shares arose from the interest held by GS&Co., acting as discretional manager of 15,171 ADRs.
e)	The interest in 56,691 shares arose from a beneficial interest in 18,897 ADRs held by GS&Co.
f)	The interest in 16,113 shares arose from a beneficial interest in 5,371 ADRs held by Goldman Sachs Financial Markets L.P.
g)	The interest in 18,750 shares arose from a beneficial interest in 6,250 ADRs held by SLK- Hull Derivatives LLC, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of GS Inc.

T May
Company Secretary

For further information please contact:

Investor Relations	Cléa Rosenfeld (Rest of the World)	+44 1256 894 160
	Brian Piper (North America)	+1 484 595 8252

Notes to editors

Registered in England 2883758 Registered Office as above

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