EGYPT – Hikma Pharmaceuticals, a British multinational pharmaceutical company, is in talks with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to acquire some assets of its Egyptian subsidiary, as part of a wider proposed deal.
Hikma said in a statement that it plans to buy the drugmaker’s pharmaceutical, consumer commercialization and manufacturing business in Egypt and its drugs business in Tunisia.
Hikma’s statement was released in response to a disclosure made to the Egyptian Exchange by GSK SAE concerning the step.
Further discussions between Hikma and GSK over the proposed transaction are relying on the outcomes of the due diligence exercise Hikma will conduct, the statement added.
“The proposed transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including the finalisation of definitive and legally binding documents and the completion of due diligence by Hikma.”
Hikma hasn’t provided further details on the percentage of stakes that it is planning to buy, but it said further updates will be provided later.
“The proposed transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including the finalisation of definitive and legally binding documents and the completion of due diligence by Hikma. As such, there can be no guarantee at this stage that the proposed transaction will progress,” Hikma noted.
Hikma, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, first entered the Egyptian pharmaceutical market in 2007 through its acquisition of Alkan Pharma in Egypt, now Hikma-Egypt. It has operations in the MENA region and is already tracking to US$700m in revenues for 2020.
GSK SAE was established in Cairo in 1981. The British Glaxo Group Limited owns 91.2 percent of the business stake, while the remaining stakes are held by QNB Al-Ahly — 5.9 percent — and other Egyptian shareholders hold the remaining 2.9 percent.
The British company, which supplies many generic drugs including anaesthetics, pain medications, sedatives, neuromuscular blocking agents and anti-infectives, said further talks with GSK will depend on the results of its due-diligence process.
Hikma recently received an ‘A-‘ rating from the CDP 2020 Global Climate Change Report, improving on the Group’s previous score and elevating Hikma to CDP’s Leadership Band of companies implementing current best practices.
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