U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly & Co secured European Union regulatory approval on Thursday to buy Johnson & Johnson's animal health unit Janssen to boost its presence in Europe.

The companies, which announced the deal in March, have not disclosed financial details.

The European Commission, the EU competition watchdog, said in a statement: "The Commission's investigation showed that whilst the combined market shares of the merging parties would be relatively high in certain areas, customers would continue to benefit from a sufficient choice of suppliers."