Japan's Dainippon Buys Sepracor for $2.6 Bil.

Japanese drug company Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co. is acquiring U.S. drug maker Sepracor Inc. for about $2.6 billion in an effort to expand in the U.S. market, both sides said Thursday.

The deal is through a tender offer at a price of $23 per share, a 27.6 percent premium over Sepracor’s closing price Tuesday, to start in early September, Dainippon said.

Under the deal, Dainippon intends to acquire all outstanding common shares of Sepracor, based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, to make it a wholly owned subsidiary, it said.

The buyout is the latest in a series of acquisitions of foreign pharmaceuticals by Japanese drug companies.

“Sepracor has pursued growth through development of its unique pipeline and introduction of innovative pharmaceutical products to the market, a strategy that fits perfectly with our management philosophy,” Dainippon President Masayo Tada said.

Tada said his company hoped to become international competitive in research and expand its international operations.

Adrian Adams, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sepracor, also welcomed the deal.

“DSP is a leading Japanese pharmaceutical company with a distinguished history and an established, strong track record of operational and financial performance based on a number of successful product launches,” he said.

It hopes to start selling its anti-psychotic drug Lurasidone in the U.S. by 2010, Dainippon said.

Dainippon, which has largely depended on the domestic market up to now, sees the acquisition as key to growth, according to Kyodo news agency.

9/3/2009 5:19 AM TOKYO (AP)