NEW YORK — US pharmaceutical firm Wyeth said Monday its shareholders overwhelmingly approved a deal to be taken over by rival Pfizer that would boost the size of the world's biggest drugmaker.
A preliminary count showed 98 percent of shares voted favored the merger, Wyeth said.
"The merger is in the best interests of our company and our stockholders," said Wyeth chairman and chief executive Bernard Poussot.
"Combined with Pfizer, we see opportunities for increased scale where needed and resources to become the world's premier biopharmaceutical company and an industry leader in human, consumer and animal healthcare, in both disease prevention and treatment. The combined organization will continue Wyeth's mission to bring innovative medical solutions to patients around the world."
Pfizer, already the world's biggest pharmaceutical firm, announced the planned merger in January, seeking diversification as it prepares for the expiration of patents on its blockbuster drugs.
The 68 billion dollar (48.2 billion euro) deal appears to be the biggest takeover in the global pharmaceutical sector since Pfizer acquired Warner-Lambert Co. for 93.4 billion dollars in 2000.
The EU's executive branch -- which enforces EU competition law -- approved the deal last week contingent on Pfizer's commitment to divest some of its operations in animal health vaccines, pharmaceuticals and medicinal feed additives in Europe.
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