Alexion, AstraZeneca shareholders approve $39B acquisition

Photo | Contributed Alexion Pharmaceuticals' research facility at 100 College St. in New Haven.

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By Natalie Missakian

Shareholders on Tuesday morning gave a green light to drug maker AstraZeneca’s planned $39 billion acquisition of New Haven-born Alexion Pharmaceuticals.

Shareholders from both companies voted to approve the deal in shareholder meetings, keeping the acquisition on track to close by the end of September, the companies said in separately issued press announcements.

The UK-based AstraZeneca said the combination won approval from more than 99% of its shareholders who voted on the deal. Alexion did not include results of the voting in its announcement, but a spokeswoman said the company expects to file them late Tuesday or on Wednesday.

In the announcement, Alexion CEO Ludwig Hantson said he was “very pleased” with the affirmative vote, adding that it “brings us one step closer to completing a transaction that will accelerate the combined company’s ability to develop and provide access to life-changing medicines for patients with rare and devastating diseases.”

AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said that the shareholders’ approval “represents a significant step toward combining Alexion’s leadership in complement biology and rare diseases with AstraZeneca’s expertise in precision medicine and growing presence in immunology.”

Under the deal, first announced last December, Alexion shareholders will receive cash and stock valued at around $175 a share.

AstraZeneca has said previously Alexion’s Boston headquarters would become known as “Alexion, The AstraZeneca Rare Disease Unit,” following the deal.

Alexion, which was founded in the Elm City by a Yale doctor, also employs around 500 people at its New Haven research and development facility at 100 College St.

The shareholders’ nod Tuesday follows an earlier key approval from the Federal Trade Commission, but the deal is still awaiting additional regulatory clearances.

This story was updated with a comment from an Alexion spokeswoman.