The EU may unconditionally approve Novo Nordisk's (NVO.US) acquisition of Catalent (CTLT.US)
1min read The European Commission is reportedly set to unconditionally approve Novo Holdings' $16.5bn acquisition of Catalent, a US contract drugmaker, without any conditions.The European Commission will decide by December 6 whether to approve the merger or decide to launch a deeper review.Catalent agreed in February to be acquired by Novo Holdings for $63.50 per share. Novo Holdings will then sell three Catalent manufacturing sites to Novo Nordisk, which will help Novo Nordisk boost production of its blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy.Novo Nordisk and Catalent recently reiterated their expectations that the transaction would be completed by the end of this year.Pharmaceutical giant Roche has called on regulators to block the deal, fearing it could hurt competition in the weight loss drug industry. Novo Nordisk's main competitor in the obesity and diabetes drug market, Eli Lilly, has also expressed concerns.The deal has also been criticised by US consumer groups, who last month urged the US Federal Trade Commission to block the deal, saying it threatened competition in the weight loss drug industry.As of Friday's close, Catalent rose 2.21% to $60.98 and Novo Nordisk rose 2.37% to $105.06.