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Firm buying rest of Banyu

Friday, Sept. 12, 2003 | 9:27 a.m.

TOKYO -- Merck & Co., the world's third-largest drug maker, is buying the 4.8 percent stake it does not own in Banyu Pharmaceutical Co. of Japan for 17.7 billion yen ($151 million), both sides said Thursday.

In March, Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., raised its stake in Banyu from 51 percent to 95.2 percent. Merck is making a tender offer starting Sept. 17 and closing on Oct. 20, to gain full ownership of the Japanese company, which will become Merck's largest wholly owned subsidiary outside the United States, the companies said in a statement.

Merck has said it intends to fully own Banyu. Acquiring Banyu gives Merck experimental new drugs in development for obesity, diabetes and other conditions, and boosts its presence in Japan's large pharmaceutical market.

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