Dentsply International (NSDQ:XRAY) and Sirona Dental Systems (NSDQ:SIRO) said yesterday their shareholders “overwhelmingly” approved their proposed $5.56 billion merger.
The companies said that shareholders approved all proposals to complete the merger and the deal remains on track to be completed in the 1st quarter of this year.
“We are pleased with the overwhelmingly favorable outcome of the vote we received today by our shareholders and look forward to bringing together our two innovative companies. Both companies have built a deep and loyal customer base and have highly complementary product portfolios, positioning the combined entity to advance patient care and deliver meaningful value to our shareholders,” Dentsply CEO Bret Wise said in a prepared statement.
“We are pleased with the exceptionally strong support of both sets of shareholders in favor of the merger. With the strong support of our shareholders, we are now focused on completing the transaction, successfully integrating the businesses and realizing the combination’s full value creation potential. We are convinced that combining these 2 world class companies to create The Dental Solutions Company will foster the development of differentiated, integrated solutions for general practitioners and specialists,” Sirona CEO Jeffrey Slovin said in prepared remarks.
Closure of the merger is still subject to regulatory approval, the companies said.
The stockholder vote was proposed in December, with both shareholder meetings planned in their respective headquarters on the same day. The deal has already past both Denstply and Sirona’s boards, who voted unanimously for the merger of equals, according to an SEC filing from Dentsply.
In late November month, the companies announced that the merger cleared the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s waiting period, clearing the way for a close in the 1st quarter of 2016.
The merger, announced in September, would create the world’s largest dental equipment maker. It calls for Sirona shareholders to receive 1.8142 XRAY shares for each SIRO share they own. At roughly $98.06 apiece, that’s about a 0.7% discount on Sirona’s $99.31 closing price the day before the deal was announced.
The combined company, Dentsply Sirona, is slated to trade on the NASDAQ exchange under the XRAY symbol. At that point Dentsply shareholders will own 58% of the new entity, with Sirona shareholders owning the rest. Dentsply Sirona’s global headquarters will be in York, Pa., with international HQ in Salzburg, Austria.
