Mylan's shareholders voted in favour of moving forward with a $33 billion (€29.5 billion) hostile bid for over-the-counter pharma group Perrigo, putting the fate of the deal in the hands of Perrigo investors.

The proposal gained the support of two-thirds of votes cast, representing more than half of all outstanding shares, Mylan said in a statement yesterday. Mylan will take its formal offer directly to Irish-based Perrigo shareholders in "coming weeks", Mylan chairman Robert J Coury said.

Mylan now has until September 14th to initiate the process for acquiring Perrigo, whose management is opposed to the deal and has called the proposal value-destructive. "We are confident that the majority of Perrigo shareholders will not tender their shares to Mylan," Perrigo chief executive Joe Papa said in a statement. – (Bloomberg)