Valeant Pharmaceuticals, one of Canada’s largest companies by market capitalization, plans to expand its reach in North Africa and the Middle East after reaching a deal to buy an Egyptian pharmaceutical company for about US$800 million.
The Quebec-based company said it has a definite agreement to buy Amoun Pharmaceutical from Mercury (Cayman) Holdings.
The deal includes Amoun’s manufacturing plant, which would add to Valeant’s 40 manufacturing plants around the world.
Egypt’s pharmaceutical industry has grown from under US$5 billion to US$21 billion in a decade, said analyst Douglas Miehm of RBC Capital Markets.
Valeant (TSX:VRX) said emerging markets are expected to account for about 20 percent of its revenues in 2015, including 10 percent from Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Amoun expects sales to reach about US$223 million this year. It has more than 30 branded products including those for animal health and the treatment of hypertension, infections and diarrhea.
If the transaction closes as planned in the third quarter, it will be Valeant’s biggest acquisition since it paid US$11.1 billion to buy Salix Pharmaceuticals. That deal closed April 1 after a bidding war with Irish rival Endo International.
Read more at MontrealGazette.
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