11.02.10
Boehringer to expand in Asia
Ingelheim/Tokyo – German drug maker Boehringer Ingelheim has placed a bid worth 82 billion yen ($913 million) to make the largest Japanese OTC drug firm SSP Co. a wholly-owned subsidiary. Boehringer, which already has 60% stake in SSP, offered to pay 710 yen per share for the rest, an up of 34 percent compared to yesterday's closing price. In 2009, SSP doubled its net income to 1.65 billion yen in but revenue fell 2.2 percent to 47.5 billion yen. Besides expansion into the world’s second-biggest pharmaceutical market, the German firm plans to use its research and development capabilities for SSP's product development and sell SSP products overseas. The offer by Boehringer will start February 15 and end April 13.