Shareholders Approve St. Jude Acquisition

Shareholders of St. Jude Medical Inc. on Wednesday approved the $25 billion deal for pharmaceutical giant Abbott to acquire the medical device maker, which has a manufacturing plant in Sylmar. The decision is based on preliminary voting results, where approximately 99 percent of participating shareholders elected in favor of the acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of the year. The 99 percent represents approximately 74 percent of St. Jude’s outstanding stock as of the record date. Final voting results will be available in a Form 8-K the company will file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission later this week. “The combined organization will create one of the world’s premier medical device companies and will provide customers a broad portfolio of products across cardiovascular diseases, chronic pain and movement disorders,” St. Jude Chief Executive Michael Rousseau said in a statement.