BUZZ-Actelion shares decline as takeover hopes wane

(Corrects to $30 billion from $30 million in first bullet and to $5 billion from $5 million in last bullet; fixes link in first bullet)

** Actelion (Xetra: 936767 - news) shares decline after British drug company Shire (Amsterdam: QB8.AS - news) offers to buy its U.S. rival Baxalta (Berlin: 9BX.BE - news) for $30 billion

** Swiss-based Actelion, Europe's largest standalone biotechnology company, decline 2.3 percent to 139.90 Swiss francs ($144.30)

** "Actelion's stock price had been buoyed to a large extent by speculation that it could be taken over," says a trader in Zurich

** Shire (Xetra: S7E.DE - news) had been a possible buyer for Actelion, so its offer for Baxalta crimps those expectations

** This year, Actelion shares have risen by about 25 percent, following their 50 percent gain a year ago

** So far, Baxalta has rejected Shire's proposal

** Shire aims to become a leading producer of drugs for rare diseases and had bought another U.S. rival, NPS, for about $5 billion earlier this year ($1 = 0.9695 Swiss francs) (RM (LSE: RM.L - news) : john.miller.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)