OSAKA, Japan, and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited ("Takeda"), (TSE: 4502) and Millennium
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Millennium"), (Nasdaq: MLNM) today announced the
completion of Takeda's tender offer by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Mahogany
Acquisition Corp., to acquire all outstanding shares of Millennium common
stock for US$25.00 per share.
The subsequent offering period for the tender offer expired at 12:00
midnight (New York City Time) at the end of Tuesday, May 13, 2008. The
depositary for the tender offer has advised Takeda that, as of the expiration
of the subsequent offering period, approximately 295,628,495 shares of
Millennium common stock have been tendered, representing approximately 90.3%
of the outstanding shares of Millennium common stock. All shares that were
validly tendered have been accepted for purchase, and Takeda has or will
promptly pay for all such shares.
As previously announced, Takeda expects to effect, without a vote or
meeting of Millennium stockholders, a short-form merger on May 14, 2008 to
complete the Millennium acquisition. Following the merger, Millennium will be
an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Takeda. In the merger, each of the
remaining shares of Millennium common stock (other than any shares in respect
of which appraisal rights are validly exercised under Delaware law and any
shares owned by Millennium, Takeda or any of their subsidiaries) will be
converted into the right to receive the same $25.00 in cash per share, without
interest, that was paid in the tender offer. Following the merger, Millennium
common stock will cease to be traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.
About Takeda
Founded in 1781 and located in Osaka, Japan, Takeda is a research-based
global company with its main focus on pharmaceuticals. As the largest
pharmaceutical company in Japan and one of the global leaders of the industry,
Takeda is committed to striving toward better health for individuals and
progress in medicine by developing superior pharmaceutical products.
Additional information about Takeda is available through its corporate
website, http://www.takeda.com.
About Millennium
Millennium, a leading biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Mass.,
markets VELCADE, a novel cancer product, and has a robust clinical development
pipeline of product candidates. Millennium research, development and
commercialization activities are focused in two therapeutic areas: oncology
and inflammation. By applying its knowledge of the human genome,
understanding of disease mechanisms and industrialized drug discovery
platform, Millennium is developing an exciting pipeline of innovative product
candidates. Additional information about Millennium is available through its
website, http://www.millennium.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that involve
significant risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of
historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking
statements, including statements regarding the ability to complete the
transaction; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of
assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Investors and security holders
are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to
a number of risks and uncertainties. Risks and uncertainties that could cause
results to differ from expectations include: uncertainties as to the timing of
the merger; the possibility that various closing conditions for the merger may
not be satisfied or waived, including that a governmental entity may prohibit,
delay or refuse to grant approval for the consummation of the merger; and
other risks and uncertainties discussed in the tender offer documents, as
amended and supplemented, filed by Mahogany Acquisition Corp. with the
Securities and Exchange Commission and the Solicitation/Recommendation
Statement, as amended and supplemented, filed by Millennium. Neither Takeda
nor Millennium undertakes any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
SOURCE Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited