Otsuka acquires stake in water company

Otsuka Pharmaceuticals has acquired a 49 per cent stake in bottled water manufacturer Alma, it has announced.

The European mineral water company was paid 750 million euros (595 million pounds) for the stake on May 26th.

Otsuka indicated it was keen to develop its interests in the European mineral water industry and this purchase would give it a “strong foothold”.

Alma is the holding company of the Alma group, which includes Neptune and a wide variety of brand names, and has 34 bottled water production sites across Europe.

Otsuka, whose motto is “people creating new products for better health worldwide”, is a conglomerate of more than 80 businesses, including some in the UK, and was established in 1921.

Its European products include Ablify, Pletal, Adacolumn, Mikelan and UbiT.

Otsuka’s figures for 2005 show its overall spending on research and development increased by more than 25 per cent to 730 million euros.