CHINA, Nov. 5, 2009 (Info-Prod Research) -- Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis (NYSE:NVS) plans to buy a majority stake in a Chinese company. The company stated on Wed, Nov. 4th that it has agreed to acquire 85% of Zhejiang Tianyuan Bio-Pharmaceutical Co. for about US$125 million cash.The news of the deal comes a day after Novartis announced a plan to invest US$ 1.25 billion in its Chinese research centers over the next five years. Novartis seeks to expand its research and development capacity in China, as well as play a bigger role in the rapidly growing Chinese medical industry.Novartis has increased its revenues in China by 30% to US$ 586 million throughout 2008. Tianyuan has doubled its net sales revenue to US$ 25 million since 2006. An agreement for the purchase has been signed by both Tianyuan and Novartis. The deal itself is still subject to change, based on China's regulatory approvals. Dr. Daniel Vasella, Chairman and CEO of Novartis, said in a press release that "Novartis has a long-standing commitment to improving healthcare in China. Our future activities with Tianyuan are an important step in our strategy to enhance the prevention of diseases in China with high-quality products."
