Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings is buying Tanabe Seiyaku for $4.3 billion in a deal that will double its drug sales. Analysts note that the combined company--which will create the fifth largest pharma company in Japan--will still be small by global pharma standards, but that the drug industry in Japan is under considerable pressure to consolidate as price controls in the country squeeze margins. The consolidation is intended to make them more competitive outside of Japan, a strategy that is seen as crucial to their long-term viability. Tanabe's best-selling drug is Remicade.
- here's the release on the deal