Japan's Takeda plans to sell consumer health unit for around $3.7 billion - Nikkei

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd plans to sell its consumer health unit for around 400 billion yen ($3.72 billion), Nikkei Business reported.

Possible buyers of Takeda Consumer Healthcare Co include Taisho Pharmaceutical Co. and large investment funds, Nikkei reported. Spokespeople for both Takeda and Taisho declined to comment.

Takeda Chief Executive Christophe Weber said last year that a sale of the Japan-focused consumer unit, known for its Alinamin line of energy drinks, was unlikely.

Japan's biggest pharma company would focus on overseas divestitures in its pledge to sell $10 billion of assets to reduce debt in the wake of the $59 billion purchase of Shire Plc, Weber said at the time.

It completed $7 billion of divestments in calendar 2019, including assets in the Middle East and Africa and a dry-eye drug sold for $5.3 billion to Novartis, Refinitiv data show.

Takeda is due to report full-year earnings on May 13. Its shares rose 2.5% in Tokyo trading versus a 0.8% drop in the broader market. Takeda shares are still down more than 12% so far this year.

($1 = 107.6500 yen)

(Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)