PARSIPPANY, N.J., and DUBLIN, Ireland — Actavis Inc. and Warner Chilcott plc stockholders have given the green light for the pharmaceutical companies’ merger agreement.
At meetings on Tuesday, shareholders approved Actavis’ deal to buy Ireland-based Warner Chilcott in an $8.5 billion stock-for-stock transaction, which was announced in May.
Pending regulatory approvals, including from the Irish High Court, the acquisition is expected to close early in the fourth quarter of this year, the companies said. Both the Actavis and Warner Chilcott boards had unanimously approved the agreement.
Combined, the two drug makers would form a global specialty pharmaceutical company with about $11 billion in total annual sales.
The merged entity also would be the third-largest U.S. specialty pharmaceutical company, with about $3 billion in annual revenue, focused on the core therapeutic categories of women’s health, gastroenterology, urology and dermatology.
