Sanofi pays $544 mln for Primary's vitamin unit

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA) has agreed to pay A$560 million ($544 million) to Primary Health Care Ltd (PRY.AX) for Australia's largest distributor of vitamin supplements, Primary said on Monday.

Primary, which acquired the unit after a A$2.7 billion takeover of medical testing group Symbion Health this year, said the sale will help pay down debt it took on to fund the deal.

"The sale of the consumer business will allow Primary to continue its focus on operating its core businesses and progress with the integration of the Symbion business acquired in February," Primary Managing Director Edmund Bateman said.

The Australian Financial Review newspaper said on Monday that Sanofi-Aventis beat German drug maker Merck KGaA (MRCG.DE) for the unit, whose assets include dietary supplement brands Bio-Organics, Cenovis, Nature's Own and Betadine.

Primary is accepting separate bids for its pharmacy business until Tuesday, and is expected to reap more than A$500 million.

An industry source told Reuters last week that Swiss-based Zuellig Pharma, an Asia-focused healthcare distributor, was among the potential bidders for the business.

A consortium is also expected to make a bid, a source close to the deal said on Monday.

Grocery wholesaler Metcash Ltd (MTS.AX) dropped out of the bidding last week. Metcash had originally formed a joint venture bid with Sigma Pharmaceuticals Ltd (SIP.AX), with Sigma chasing the consumer unit.

SANOFI SYMBION SYNERGIES

World No. 3 drugmaker Sanofi's planned acquisition of Primary's Symbion division comes at the same time as the French group is trying to buy Czech drug company Zentiva ZNTVsp.PR.

Sanofi said it expected to close the Symbion deal at the end of August, noting that Symbion was the leader in its business sector, with a 21 percent market share.

Sanofi added that Symbion's 2007 sales were around A$190 million.

"The acquisition will sustain Sanofi-Aventis' growth in Australia through widening its products portfolio, increasing pharmacy presence and access to new channels, and will create strong synergies with our existing pharmaceutical activities," Olivier Charmeil, senior vice-president of Sanofi's Asia-Pacific pharmaceutical operations said in a statement.

"Additionally, this acquisition will represent for Sanofi-Aventis a platform to launch a nutraceutical offering throughout the Asia-Pacific region," he added.

Shares in Primary closed Friday at A$4.75. The stock traded above A$8 in January.

Sanofi shares closed at 45.69 euros on Friday.

(Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris; Editing by Louise Ireland)