Takeda, Shire Shareholders Approve Proposed Acquisition

On Dec. 5, 2018, Takeda Pharmaceutical and Shire announced that their respective shareholders voted in favor of the proposed $62-billion acquisition of Shire by Takeda.

Shareholders approved Takeda’s proposal to delegate to the Takeda board the decision regarding the offering terms for issuing the new Takeda shares required to implement the proposed acquisition. At least 88 % of the votes were cast in favor of the proposal. 

The acquisition was also approved by Shire shareholders at a Dec. 5, 2018 meeting, and is subject to the sanctioning by a court in Jersey at a hearing expected to be held on Jan. 3, 2019. Subject to receipt of the necessary Shire shareholder approvals and the sanction of the scheme of arrangement by the Jersey Court, the acquisition is expected to be completed on Jan. 8, 2019.

In addition, Takeda’s proposal to appoint three of Shire’s existing external directors-Ian Clark, Olivier Bohuon, and Steven Gillis-to the Takeda Board with effect from closing was also approved as originally proposed. Each of these appointments was approved by at least 87% of the shareholders’ votes.  

Takeda received clearance from the European Commission in November 2018 and the United States Federal Trade Commission in July 2018. Other regulatory authorities that have cleared the acquisition include the Japan Fair Trade Commission, the State Administration for Market Regulation in China, and the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defense.

Source: Takeda Pharmaceutical