Tokyo, Japan 8/29/17; Osaka, Japan 8/29/17—Japanese firm Shiseido has agreed to sell its chromatography business, Shiseido Irica Technology, to chemical maker Osaka Soda for an undisclosed amount. Both companies provide LC products. For the nine months ending December 31, 2016, Shiseido Irica sales totaled ¥601 million ($5.5 million at ¥108.76 = $1), while operating profit was flat at ¥11 million ($0.1 million). Based in Kyoto with a Chinese subsidiary, the business has 27 employees. Osaka Soda stated that the purchase will allow it to offer a wider range of chromatography products and to increase sales in China. The transaction is expected to close in December.

Shiseido Irica offers the silica-based Capcell Park and core-shell Capcell Core columns, as well as other column types for analytical LC. It also sells the Nanospace micro-HPLC system. Osaka Soda’s LC business consists of bulk silica gel media and columns for preparative, analytical and process LC.  Osaka Soda’s other chemical products include APIs and intermediates.