Japan's biggest drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. completed its £46 billion acquisition of Dublin-based Shire plc.
The deal has been approved by the Royal Court of Jersey, shareholders of both companies, the EU and the Japan Fair Trade Commission.
The merged entity — a biopharmaceutical giant focused on oncology, gastroenterology, neuroscience and rare diseases — has an annual revenue is over $30 billion, with a geographic footprint spanning about 80 countries, Takeda said in a news release.
Takeda said it is confident it can return to a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.0x or less within three to five years following the acquisition, which it funded using permanent financing. The company previously disclosed $10 billion worth of planned divestitures, likely excluding its over-the-counter drug unit, to ease debt burden from the Shire transaction.
Integration is ongoing, and being led by Takeda's executive team.