By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Novo Holdings received unconditional approval from European competition authorities on Friday for its $16.5 billion takeover of U.S. contract drugmaker Catalent (NYSE:), after EU regulators said they saw no competition concerns.
Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NYSE:), which makes the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, now said it expects to close the deal by the end of the year.
“The proposed merger would not give rise to competition concerns in any of the examined markets in the EEA (European Economic Area) or in any substantial part thereof,” the European Commission said in a statement, confirming a Reuters story.
The EEA refers to the 27 EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
The EU antitrust watchdog said there are plenty of competitive alternatives on the market.
“With the approval of the European Commission, we are one step closer to realizing the benefits of this transaction,” said Jonathan Levy, senior partner at Novo Holdings.
Wegovy’s rising sales figures make Novo Nordisk the most valuable company in Europe in terms of market value.
