Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) said today that the European Commission approved its acquisition of Swiss biotech Actelion. The regulatory nod was the last approval needed to complete the company’s transaction.
The U.S. healthcare giant added that it expects the settlement of the $30 billion all-cash tender offer on June 16.
The EU commission set conditions to its approval, saying that development of particular Actelion insomnia drugs cannot be affected by the deal.
Actelion and Johnson & Johnson are the 2 main pharma players working on these insomnia treatments and if 1 program was halted, there wouldn’t sufficient competition, according to the commission.
Johnson & Johnson offered to pay $280 per share for Actelion in January and the deal was approved unanimously by both boards of directors.
As part of the transaction, Actelion plans to spin out its drug discovery branch and early-stage clinical development assets into a Swiss biopharmaceutical company called Idorsia Ltd, led by Actelion CEO Jean-Paul Clozel. Shares in Idorsia are expected to list on the SIX Swiss Exchange on the day of the tender offer’s settlement.
J&J will initially hold 16% of Idorsia shares, the company said.
The 2 companies were in talks for months before reaching the all-cash deal in January. Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) was also involved in discussions for Actelion, but was sidelined after J&J entered into exclusive negotiations with Actelion last year.
