Shire PLC's (LON:SHP) £46bn takeover by Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical will complete on January 8 after both companies' shareholders overwhelmingly approved the deal at separate general meetings on Wednesday.
In a statement this afternoon, Shire said 99.84% of its shareholders voted to approve the Takeda deal at the Ireland-based firm’s general meeting in Dublin. Earlier today, the Japanese predator said at least 88% of its shareholders voted in favour of the deal at an extraordinary general meeting held in Osaka, Japan.
READ: Takeda's proposed takeover of Shire receives conditional EU clearance
Takeda’s president and chief executive officer, Christophe Weber said in a statement after the meeting: "We are delighted that our shareholders have given their strong support to our acquisition of Shire. 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."
Takeda shares have fallen by around 25% since the firm revealed its interest in acquiring Shire in March, with investors worried about whether the company can cope with the high financing costs and challenges of integration. While Wednesday’s approval was expected, a small group of investors had actively voiced opposition.
Takeda, which will join the ranks of the world’s top 10 drugmakers after the takeover, will also become one of the most indebted as, in addition to issuing new shares, the company has also secured US$30.9bn in bank loans to complete the deal.
Weber has promised to turn the deal profitable by slashing costs, with annual savings of at least US$1.4bn predicted three years after completion. The group also has plans to sell up to US$10bn worth of non-core assets to pay back debt.
READ: Shires shares spike 4% after Takeda revises £43bn bid
The takeover received conditional clearance from the European Commission on 20 November after the companies agreed to sell SHP647 – an inflammatory bowel disease treatment Shire is developing – along with some associated rights to help ease concerns about an overlap in similar drugs, including Takeda’s biggest-seller Entyvio.
In afternoon trading, Shire shares were 2.9% higher at 4,683p, with the cash and shares deal having initially valued the company at 4,600p a share.
-- Adds Shire meeting results; updates share price --