Kirin Holdings Co. said Thursday it will buy Australian health food company Blackmores Ltd. for AU$1.88 billion ($1.24 billion) to expand its health-related business in the fast-growing markets of the Asia and Oceania regions.

Blackmores will become a fully owned subsidiary of Kirin under a deal scheduled to be completed in August, said the Japanese beverage group.

Kirin has in recent years focused on the overseas potential of the health sciences, seeing limited growth in the domestic beverage market.

Kirin said that in part, it has decided to acquire Blackmores to tap into the Australian firm's wide sales channels in the fast-growing Southeast Asian market.

Besides Australia, Blackmores mainly sells its products in China and Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.

Takeshi Minakata, a senior executive officer of Kirin, said at a press conference that with the acquisition, they aim to be "a leading company in the health-related business in Asia and Oceania."

Blackmores, which was established in 1932, is one of the most trusted vitamin supplements makers in Australia with sales of AU$650 million in the year ended June last year, according to the two companies.

==Kyodo

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