Daily News Egypt learned that an English investment fund had made an offer to the Canadian Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. to acquire its Amoun Pharmaceutical for $600m.
Sources close to the deal said the English fund was seeking to acquire all of the company’s shares and that Valeant is seriously considering the offer.
The sources refused to disclose the name of the English fund, especially being one of many that seek to close the same deal.
The sources explained that Valeant has many offers on the table, including a potential Kuwaiti offer to acquire part of the shares.
Moreover, sources speculated that Valeant would leave Amoun in whole or in part for the next few months. The Canadian company has suffered a severe financial crisis two years ago after its debts scored more than $30bn.
In mid-July 2015, Valeant Pharmaceuticals announced that it had acquired Amoun for $800m.
In September 2017, Bloomberg reported that Valeant is considering selling its Egyptian pharmaceutical unit Amoun to speed up its debt reduction plan and is working with Goldman Sachs group on the sale.
Since 2016, the Canadian company has been seeking to leave Amoun, but low financial return has always been a barrier to its efforts, the sources said.
“Valeant may have to pick the best deals available in an attempt to raise returns that will enable it to repay part of its debts,” the source said.
Global financial reports indicate that the Canadian company has a painful timeline for repaying its debt over the coming years. It is required to pay $4.5bn in 2018, up to $8.4bn in 2020.
Amoun is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Egypt. It is ranked sixth in the list of top selling companies annually with a sales volume approaching EGP 2bn.
