Valeant eyes Middle East, African market with $1B acquisition
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
Pharmaceutical giant to purchase Egypitan drug company, Amoun
LAVAL, Que—Valeant Pharmaceuticals International has announced it will acquire Amoun Pharmaceutical, a major Egyptian drug company, through the purchase of its holding company, Mercury Holdings. The acquisition will cost Valeant approximately US$800 million, or C$1.04 billion, plus contingent payments.
Valeant said Amoun is the largest domestic company in the Egyptian pharmaceutical market and currently expects to “reach” 1.75 billion Egyptian pounds by 2015, with annual growth of approximately 20 per cent.
Amoun operates a large, state-of-the-art manufacturing plant considered to be one of the largest and most up-to-date pharmaceutical facilities in Africa and the Middle East and has market leading pharmaceutical brands in therapeutic areas such as anti-hypertensives, broad spectrum antibiotics and anti-diarrheals.
Valeant said it intends for Amoun to serve as a platform for further expansion in the broader Middle East and North African pharmaceutical market.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to customary closing conditions.
