Roche Reportedly In Talks To Buy Chugai In $10 Bln Deal

(RTTNews) - Roche Holding AG (RHHBY) is in talks to buy the almost 40 percent stake in Japan's Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd that it does not already own for about $10 billion, the Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The deal reportedly may be announced as early as next week, though no final decision has been made, the report stated. Roche to take full control of its Japanese partner for oncology and arthritis drugs, the report stated.

Representatives for Basel, Switzerland-based Roche declined to comment on the report.

In July, Genentech, a member of Switzerland-based Roche Group , entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Seragon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held biotechnology company head-quartered in San Diego, California, in a deal with a total transaction value of up to $1.725 billion.

Roche owned 62 percent of Chugai as of June 30, 2014, according to the Swiss company's annual report.