Bayer plans to acquire 100 percent of the shares of Dihon Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., a privately held Chinese pharmaceutical company specializing primarily in over-the-counter (OTC) and herbal traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) products.
Dihon is a leading player in China’s OTC industry as well as TCM products. The transaction is subject to fulfillment of certain conditions, including merger control clearance, and is expected to close in the second half of 2014.
“Adding the strong OTC brands from Dihon to our portfolio will significantly advance our business in China and positions us well for future growth,” said Dr. Olivier Brandicourt, CEO of Bayer HealthCare. “Equally important is the foothold we will gain in TCM, which makes up about half of the OTC segment in China and is a well-accepted and sought after line of natural science-based alternative therapies for consumers looking for trusted solutions for their healthcare needs. We think we can leverage our recent acquisition of Steigerwald in combination with Dihon’s herbal TCM expertise and pipeline to benefit both these areas, which have a different but related heritage.”
Dihon generated sales of US$170 million in 2013. The company employs approximately 2,400 people in R&D, manufacturing, sales and marketing. In addition to operations in China, Dihon brands are sold in other countries such as Nigeria, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia. Dihon’s headquarters is in Kunming, China.
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