UPDATE 1-J&J says 84.4 pct of Cougar shares tendered

* Says about 17.7 mln shares tendered * Says subsequent offering period ends on July 9 * Gets commitments to tender 2 mln more shares July 3 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson said about 84.4 percent of the outstanding shares of Cougar Biotechnology Inc were tendered during the initial offering period that ended Thursday and the subsequent offering period for the remaining shares will expire on July 9. The drugmaker said it also received commitments to tender about 2 million more shares for the offer, conducted through its Kite Merger Sub Inc unit. The company said any shares validly tendered during the subsequent offering period will be accepted at the original offer price of $43 per share in cash. In May, Johnson & Johnson agreed to buy cancer drug developer Cougar Biotechnology for about $970 million in cash to strengthen its oncology business. On completion of the deal, Cougar will operate as a unit of Johnson & Johnson, and will work with Ortho Biotech Oncology Research & Development, a unit of Centocor Research & Development Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, it said. (Reporting by Santosh Nadgir in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) Keywords: JHONSONANDJHONSON/ ([e-mail]; within U.S [phone]; Outside U.S [phone]; Reuters messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

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