Today, Royal DSM N.V., headquartered in Heerlen, The Netherlands, announced that it has reached principal agreement with Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group (SPG) in Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China to acquire the equity interests of SPG in the joint venture between DSM and SPG, named Roche (Shanghai) Vitamins Limited (RSVL). After this acquisition of the 36% share participation of SPG, RSVL will be a wholly owned subsidiary of DSM (Nutritional Products) and in due course will be renamed DSM Vitamins (Shanghai) Ltd.

According to the agreement signed between DSM and SPG, DSM will acquire the equity interest held by SPG in Roche (Shanghai) Vitamins Limited for the sum of approximately  EUR 10 million (USD 13,8 million).

With this step DSM further strengthens its position in the Chinese vitamin market.

The transaction is still subject to the appropriate regulatory approvals in China and closing is expected by the end of the first quarter, 2005.

Roche (Shanghai) Vitamins Limited
RSVL is engaged in the production of Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin B6 and vitamin blends for the animal and human nutrition markets. The company operates from two sites in Shanghai and sells products both in the domestic Chinese market and also exports certain products to other parts of the world. The company has annual sales of approximately 85 mio USD and has more than 450 employees.

Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group
SPG is the largest pharmaceutical group in the Peoples Republic of China and is one of the 100 largest industrial enterprises in the country. Its principal activities are in the areas of antibiotics, prescription drugs, traditional Chinese Medicine & OTC, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and distribution and retail of its products which are sold throughout China and to more than 30 countries overseas. SPG had annual revenues in 2003 of approximately 20 billion RMB (appr. USD 2.4 billion).