Glaxo Wellcome Not Eyeing Big Takeovers, Just Strategic Ones

Any acquisitions Glaxo Wellcome may make in the future are more likelyto be smaller purchases in either a sector or a country, according to company deputy chairman and chief executive Sir Richard Sykes, who told a news conference in Helsinki, Finland, that GW might have to acquire products that fit in with its portfolio and ones that build on it.

Megamergers are becoming more difficult, he said, not least because of their cost. He added that the largest companies have no more than a 5% share of the world's drug market, and this will probably continue because the diversity of treatment is so immense.

Japanese Weakness A Worry GW's overall 55% market share varies country to country, with the challenge now being to build a strong presence in developing markets which now account for only 15% of sales. GW only has a 1.8% share in Japan, Sir Richard noted, which is not enough. The company should be aiming for at least a 5% stake there, he said, and that will not be achieved by what he termed "organic growth" - a clear indication that an acquisition there is probably being actively sought.