SAINT HELIER (Alliance News) - Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd announced Wednesday its shareholders approved resolutions related to the proposed acquisition of Irish drugmaker Shire PLC.
Takeda said its proposal to delegate to the Takeda board the decision regarding the offering terms for the issuance of the new Takeda shares required to implement the deal was approved as originally proposed by at least 88% of the votes exercised in respect of this proposal.
Takeda has now satisfied the shareholder approval condition required to implement the deal.
The acquisition remains subject to approval by Shire shareholders at meetings expected to be held later Wednesday, and to the sanctioning of the Shire scheme of arrangement by the Jersey Court at a hearing expected to be held on January 3.
It is expected that completion of the acquisition will take place on January 8.
The last day of dealings for Shire shares on the London Stock Exchange will be Friday, January 4. Shire will be removed from the FTSE 100 index on Monday, January 7, according to index provider FTSE Russell.
Christophe Weber, president & chief executive officer of Takeda, said: "With shareholder approval secured, we are looking forward to closing the acquisition in the coming weeks to create a more competitive, agile, highly profitable, and therefore more resilient company, poised to deliver highly innovative medicines and transformative care to patients around the world."
In addition, Takeda's proposal to appoint three of Shire's existing external directors, namely Ian Clark, Olivier Bohuon and Steven Gillis, to the Takeda Board with effect from closing was also approved as originally proposed.
