Recordati acquires Turkey's Frik İlac for $130 million

In a second acquisition in just over a year, Italian drugmaker Recordati  (RC: MI) says it has signed an agreement to purchase 100% of the share capital of Dr F Frik İlac AS, a Turkish pharmaceutical company with headquarters in Istanbul. The value of the transaction (enterprise value) is around $130 million, and will be funded from existing liquidity, said Recordati.

The closing of the transaction, expected to take place in the following months, is subject to certain conditions, including clearance by the relevant competition authorities. This is the second acquisition Recordati has made in Turkey, where it acquired Yeni İlac in December 2008 for around $60 million. It also follows the takeover last year of Romanian drugmaker ArtMed International for around $1.5 million (The Pharma Letter June 14, 2010).

Frik İlac was founded by Feridun Frik 64 years ago and is today one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical companies in Turkey, commented Recordati. The company has a core portfolio of original prescription products both in primary care and specialist areas and employs 350 personnel, of which around 260 are medical representatives. Net sales in 2010 were around 100 million Turkish lira ($62.1 million).