Novartis receives European Commission approval to acquire Chiron
Novartis (Basel, Switzerland) has received approval from the European Commission to acquire the remaining shares of Chiron Corporation (Emeryville, California, US) that it does not currently own.
Novartis (Basel, Switzerland) has received approval from the European Commission to acquire the remaining shares of Chiron Corporation (Emeryville, California, US) that it does not currently own.
The move follows approval from the US Federal Trade Commission in December 2005 and clearance by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US under Exon-Florio in January 2006.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission's review of Chiron's proxy statement is ongoing and is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2006, after which a meeting of Chiron shareholders will be scheduled to enable a vote on the merger.
Meanwhile, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has terminated its investigation into whether Chiron violated any federal securities laws in connection with the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's (MHRA) suspension of its license to manufacture Fluvirin influenza virus vaccine.
SEC has also ended its inquiry into Chiron's re-statement of financial results for the second and third quarters of 2004. Chiron will face no enforcement action over either matter.