PHARMACEUTICAL giants Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham have passed a crucial hurdle in their merger plans after gaining the green light from US authorities.
The pair said the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had approved the terms of their merger, and they had now obtained all regulatory clearances required to complete the deal on December 27.
The final tick in the box before the pair become GlaxoSmithKline, is formal approval by the UK High Court, due on Wednesday.
Yesterday's approval by the US comes a week after the two said they had reached agreement with staff at the FTC on the terms of the planned tie-up, and were awaiting the authority to rubber stamp the deal.
Completion of the deal will now come almost a year after the pair agreed to merge, in January 2000.
Originally, the tie-up was expected to be finished in the summer, but delays in approval from the FTC, which wanted to have a closer look at smoking cessation products, saw the forecast completion date moved to the year end.
The tie-up was given the green light by the EC in May - on the condition some disposals were made - and was given shareholder approval in August.
In order to secure FTC approval, SmithKline will sell its Kytril, Famvir and Vectavir/Denavir drugs.
The deal will form a £130bn drugs group, which will be the largest in the world in terms of sales.
lGlaxo Wellcome currently employs 1,500 staff at a massive base in Barnard Castle
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