OREANDA-NEWS. Astellas Pharma Inc. (Tokyo：4503, President and CEO: Yoshihiko Hatanaka, hereinafter called “the Company”) announced that at the meeting of the Board of Directors held today, a resolution was adopted to acquire its own shares under Article 156 which is applicable in accordance with Article 165, paragraph 3 of the Companies Act.

Particulars

1. Reasons for the acquisition of own shares To improve capital efficiency and shareholder return.

2. Contents of acquisition
(1) Class of shares to be acquired: Common stock of the Company
(2) Total number of shares to be acquired: Up to 20 million shares (The percentage compared to the total number of shares outstanding: 0.91%)
(3) Aggregate amount of acquisition cost: Up to 40 billion yen
(4) Period of acquisition: From May 28, 2015 to July 24, 2015

(Reference)

The status of treasury shares as of March 31, 2015: Total number of shares outstanding: 2,193,141,515 shares

Number of treasury shares: 66,681,660 shares