Astra Confident Shareholders Will Back $39 Billion Alexion Deal

AstraZeneca Plc is confident shareholders will back its $39 billion takeover of rare-disease specialist Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. next week as the British company looks to the next chapter of its growth.

“It is quite rare to find somebody who says it’s not a good idea, so we are confident that this will turn out OK,” Marc Dunoyer, the drugmaker’s chief financial officer, said in an interview Thursday. The deal marks “the next stage” in Astra’s growth trajectory, he said.

Theacquisition was first announced in December, taking a number of investors by surprise in the midst of Astra’s ...