Hikma enters Moroccan market via $111 million controlling stake in Promopharm

Jordan-headquartered Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LSE: HIK) says that it has acquired 63.9% of Promopharm (Societe de Promotion Pharmaceutique du Maghreb; Casablanca: PRO) from a consortium of shareholders, comprising existing management, institutions and related parties, for an aggregate cash consideration of $111.2 million and will launch a mandatory tender offer for the remaining 36.1% of the company.

London-listed Hikma, which predominantly markets regular and branded generic drugs, has been particularly exposed to the “Arab Spring,” as it generates some 60% of its revenues from the Middle East and north Africa (MENA) region, but still managed to report a 10.4% rise to $394.8 million in first-half 2011 sales (The Pharma Letter August 25), although the company has nearly halved its full-year growth forecast to 7% from 12%-13%.

Hikma’s chief executive, Said Darwazah, explained that entering the Moroccan market has been a strategic priority for Hikma for some time and “we are delighted to have acquired a company that offers such an excellent fit with our long term growth objectives. Establishing ourselves as a local manufacturer in Morocco completes our MENA footprint and strengthens our leading position in the region…We will continue to pursue further value enhancing opportunities across our operations.”