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Johannesburg - Aspen Pharmacare [JSE:APN] has agreed to buy a portfolio of anaesthetic medicines from GlaxoSmithKline for as much as $372m as Africa’s biggest maker of generic drugs continues a spending spree.
The company will pay an initial $239m to Glaxo and disburse as much as $133m if certain goals are met, the South Africa-based drugmaker said in a statement on Monday.
The deal adds to the anaesthetics Aspen bought in June from AstraZeneca of the UK for as much as $770m.
The company said: “Aspen has identified anaesthetics as a key element of its expansion strategy.
“The addition of the portfolio will serve to further establish Aspen as a major role player in anaesthetics globally.”
The deal is the second since Aspen said in June it had secured $3.4bn in funding, attracting support from 27 banks. The acquisitive company has spent more than $2bn on assets from drugmakers including Glaxo and Merck & Co in recent years to boost its portfolio of medicines and manufacturing sites, and now sells medicines in more than 150 countries.
Aspen shares declined 1.4% to R324.25 as of 10:16 in Johannesburg, valuing the company at $10.2bn. The share price stood at R333.77 just after noon.
The stock is down more than 10% since the company announced on Wednesday that the impact of selling pharmaceutical assets and a one-time currency-related loss in Venezuela would weigh on earnings.
Aspen also will buy rights from Glaxo to sell two drugs in additional countries, including China, for $60m. Aspen had previously bought the rights to sell the medicines, Fraxiparine and Arixtra, in other markets. The two companies agreed to cancel a partnership in sub-Saharan Africa, for which Aspen will receive $60m from the London-based company.
