DMV-Fonterra Excipients (DFE), a 50:50 joint venture between Royal FrieslandCampina and Fonterra, has announced the acquisition of Royal FrieslandCampina’s pharmaceutical lactose business and manufacturing unit, FrieslandCampina Domo-Pharma.

DFE will buy the FrieslandCampina Domo-Pharma pharmaceutical grade lactose products range for NZ$106 million, with the cost split between the two dairy companies.

“This transaction underlines the shared ambition of FrieslandCampina and Fonterra to further develop their excipients business through the joint venture DMV-Fonterra Excipients,” according to Frans Visser, COO at FrieslandCampina responsible for the Ingredients business group.

Fonterra’s Managing Director for Ingredients, Andrei Mikhalevsky, said the transaction would add value to Fonterra by creating a larger scale pharmaceutical lactose business.

Synergies would be created by combining the two companies’ knowledge bases and R&D capabilities, Mr Mikhalevsky advised.

The transaction, which is likely to complete in March 2010, is subject to regulatory and other approvals.

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