Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline Plc. (GSK) offered concessions to the European Union authorities after European antitrust regulators expressed concerns over GSK's joint venture deal with Pfizer Inc, the European Commission said in a filing on Thursday. According to the document, the European Commission's competition authority will make a final decision by July 10 if it will accept the joint venture or start an investigation into the deal.
The two companies announced in December that they are starting joint venture meant to create a "premier global consumer healthcare company." According to the agreement, Pfizer will hold a 32% of the new firm's equity and the right to choose three out of nine members of the new company's board. Meanwhile, GSK will appoint both the chairperson and the chief executive officer of the joint venture.
GSK stock was 0.26% higher at 10:22 am CET. Meanwhile, Pfizer shares increased by 1.0% in premarket trading.
