OREANDA-NEWS. Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (“Takeda”) announced today that it has signed an agreement with Osaka Gas Chemicals Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Nishi-ku, Osaka City, “OGC”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Osaka Gas Co., Ltd., to transfer all the shares* Takeda owns in Mizusawa Industrial Chemicals, Ltd. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, “Mizusawa”) to OGC and completed the transfer. Mizusawa is a subsidiary of OGC, and OGC will proceed with the acquisition of Mizusawa’s shares from other shareholders.

Mizusawa was established in 1937, aimed for the domestic manufacture of activated clay used for refining oil and fats. Its current major business areas include the manufacture and marketing of adsorbent materials with activated clay as the main product and also of resin additives such as functional resin fillers and stabilizers for polyvinyl chlorides (PVC) resin as the main products.

Takeda is committed to achieving sustainable growth by conducting priority investment of R&D resources on promising R&D pipelines including gastroenterology and oncology and aggressive investment in emerging markets which will drive its business. Taking into consideration the future development of Mizusawa's business, Takeda is confident that OGC, one of the core companies of Osaka Gas Group which conducts a wide range of business including carbon fiber, fibrous activated carbon and adsorbent, will develop the future business of Mizusawa leveraging the synergy of the businesses between the both companies. Hence, Takeda has decided to transfer the shares it owns in Mizusawa to OGC.

Takeda continues to place a patient and customer centric mindset as our top priority and operate more efficiently and competitively while aiming to realize its goal of becoming a more agile, best-in-class pharmaceutical company.

*Takeda’s shareholding ratio: 54.2%

Summary of the transfer of shares
(1)      Transferee of shares: Osaka Gas Chemicals Co., Ltd.
(2)      Shares to be transferred from Takeda to OGC: 676 million shares
(3)      Ratio of voting rights: 54.2%
(4)      Transfer price: \638 per share
(5)      Date of completion: April 1, 2015

Profile of Mizusawa
(1)      Corporate Name: Mizusawa Industrial Chemicals, Ltd.
(2)      Location of executive offices: Chuo-ku, Tokyo
(3)      Representative: Hiroshi Sawada, President
(4)      Main businesses: Manufacture and marketing of adsorbent materials (mainly activated clay) and stabilizers and resin additives
(5)      Year of establishment: 1937
(6)      Capital stock: \1,519 million
(7)      Shares: Non-listed
(8)      Major shareholders and shareholding ratio: Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. 54.2%, Mitsui & Co., LTD. 10.00%
(9)      Number of Employees: 346 employees (as of the end of March, 2014)
(10)    Net sales: \10.1 billion (FY 2013)
(11)    Relationship to Takeda: Subsidiary of Takeda

Profile of OGC
(1)      Corporate Name: Osaka Gas Chemicals Co., Ltd.
(2)      Location of executive offices: Nishi-ku, Osaka city
(3)      Representative: Masataka Fujiwara, President and CEO
(4)      Main businesses: Manufacture and marketing of carbon fiber and its application products, activated carbon fiber/adsorbents and fine materials
(5)      Year of establishment: 1949
(6)      Capital stock: \12.7 billion
(7)      Shares: Non-listed
(8)      Major shareholders and shareholding ratio: Osaka Gas 100%
(9)      Number of Employees: 271 employees (as of the end of September, 2014)
(10)    Net sales: \14.6 billion (FY 2013)
(11)    Relationship to Takeda: No matters to report regarding capital, personal and transactional relationship between Takeda and OGC.

Takeda's consolidated forecasts for fiscal 2015 will be announced in May, 2015.