Roche Said in Talks to Buy Chugai in $10 Billion Deal

Roche Holding AG is in talks to buy the almost 40 percent of Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. that it doesn’t already own to gain full control of its Japanese partner for oncology and arthritis drugs, according to people familiar with the matter.

Roche, the world’s biggest maker of cancer drugs, plans to pay about $10 billion to buy the remaining stake in Tokyo-based Chugai, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plans are private. The deal may be announced as early as this week, though no final decision has been made, one of the people said.