CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - Genzyme Corp. on Monday won backing from Bioenvision
Inc. shareholders to acquire the biotechnology company for $345 million, closing
a contentious process in which the shareholder vote was reopened to secure
majority support.
Bioenvision shareholders voted to approve the company's acquisition at a
reconvened shareholder meeting in New York, the companies said. The companies
said holders of 56 percent of Bioenvision's shares voted in favor of the deal,
representing 67 percent of the total shares whose holders participated in the
vote.
The transaction will take effect Tuesday, and Bioenvision's Nasdaq-listed
shares have ceased trading, Cambridge-based Genzyme said after its own shares
closed up 11 cents at $71.71.
The companies won a court petition to reopen the voting after the proposal
initially failed to win majority support at an Oct. 5 meeting. The companies had
argued the move was needed to correct errors in the Oct. 5 voting that they said
disenfranchised some Bioenvision shareholders.
Shareholders of Bioenvision are due to receive $5.60 apiece for each of
their shares.
Among those who fought the deal was SCO Capital Partners LLC, which owns a
13 percent stake in Bioenvision. SCO Capital Partners has called the price too
low, and said the sales process was poorly time and managed.
A phone message seeking comment from SCO Capital Partners on Monday's voting
results was not immediately returned.
Proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services, Glass Lewis & Co. and
Egan-Jones had recommended that shareholders vote against the deal.
The process began in May, when Genzyme proposed acquiring New York
City-based Bioenvision in a deal it initially hoped to complete in July.
Genzyme hopes the acquisition will enhance its oncology offerings because it
will receive exclusive, worldwide rights to clofarabine, a cancer drug
Bioenvision and Genzyme codeveloped in Europe.
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