Shareholders of the Dutch biotechnology company Crucell voted on Tuesday to change the company’s bylaws and the makeup of its supervisory board, two moves that will pave the way for Johnson & Johnson‘s 1.75 billion euro ($2.4 billion) takeover.
The vote amended Crucell’s articles of association, and allowed for Johnson & Johnson nominees to take positions on the board once its bid is finalized.
In December, Johnson & Johnson offered 24.75 euros for each Crucell share it did not already own. That offer expires Feb. 16. The company set the minimum acceptance level at 80 percent of Crucell shares.
In the meantime, Johnson & Johnson is requesting a favorable ruling from the Internal Revenue Service in tax matters related to the deal.
While the transaction has the support of Crucell management, and received the approval of the European Commission last month, some shareholders felt the bid was too low.
But Crucell’s announcement this week with its full-year results that it had to suspend shipments of a drug from a South Korean plant because of microbiological contamination took the wind out of shareholder resistance.