NEW YORK, April 19 (Reuters) – U.S. healthcare conglomerate
Johnson & Johnson, which on Thursday secured EU
clearance to purchase Swiss medical device maker Synthes Inc
for about $21 billion, sai d it expects the deal to
close in the current quarter.
The company is still awaiting similar clearance from U.S.
anti-trust regulators, and said in a regulatory filing that the
companies agreed to extend the deal’s closing date – typically
one year from the original merger agreement – by 60 days to June
25.
In a separate filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, J&J; said its board had amended company bylaws to
allow the roles of chairman and chief executive officer to be
held by different individuals.
The move comes a week before Alex Gorsky takes the helm from
longtime CEO William Weldon and appears to be a formality after
the company previously announced that Weldon would remain
chairman of the board.
The Synthes deal is J&J;’s largest acquisition. It won EU
regulatory approval after J&J; committed to divest its trauma
business in Europe, which had raised competition concerns.
The European Commission, the EU’s competition watchdog, said
in a statement that the merged group would continue to face
competition from several strong rivals and that customers would
still have sufficient alternative suppliers.
“We obtained remedies to ensure that competition will remain
strong in these markets, for the ultimate benefit of patients
and social security systems,” EU Competition Commissioner
Joaquin Almunia said in a statement.
