U.S.-based Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc said it bought the Australian and South East Asian generic drugs business of India's Strides Arcolab for A$375 million ($396 million), boosting Strides' shares by more than 18 percent.Watson said on Tuesday it acquired 94 percent of Ascent Pharmahealth Ltd from Strides and the rest from the Australian company's chief executive, Dennis Bastas.Watson said the deal made it the fifth largest generic pharmaceutical company in Australia in terms of revenue, as well as the largest generic drugmaker in Singapore.The U.S. company said it had also gained an established commercial base in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Thailand.
Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Watson) is an integrated global pharmaceutical company engaged in the development, manufacturing, marketing, sale and distribution of generic and brand pharmaceutical products. Shares of WPI remained unchanged at $57.21. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $53.46 and as high as $73.35. On average, 1697800 shares of WPI exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 0.
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