Yananouchi Pharmaceutical

Shaklee Corp., a vitamin and personal-care products company whose growth has stalled in recent years, agreed Thursday to sell a 78% stake in its profitable Japanese subsidiaries to a leading Tokyo pharmaceutical company for $350 million. The sale to Yananouchi Pharmaceutical comes one month after San Francisco-based Shaklee began tightening its anti-takeover defenses to ward off corporate raider Irwin L. Jacobs of Minneapolis.

Shaklee Corp., a vitamin and personal-care products company whose growth has stalled in recent years, agreed Thursday to sell a 78% stake in its profitable Japanese subsidiaries to a leading Tokyo pharmaceutical company for $350 million. The sale to Yananouchi Pharmaceutical comes one month after San Francisco-based Shaklee began tightening its anti-takeover defenses to ward off corporate raider Irwin L. Jacobs of Minneapolis.

A group led by Minneapolis investor Irwin L. Jacobs announced Friday a long-anticipated proposal to buy Shaklee Corp., a marketer of foods, vitamins and personal care products, in a deal valuing the company at $528 million. Jacobs has been steadily buying shares in San Francisco-based Shaklee, and his investment group already holds close to 15% of the company's 13.2 million outstanding shares. In response, Shaklee has taken steps to prevent a possible takeover attempt.