Amoun Pharmaceutical hires Goldman Sachs after the potential sale valued at $700 million stalled
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Shareholders of Amoun Pharmaceutical Co., one of the largest drugmakers in Egypt, hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. as an adviser after plans to sell the company stalled.
Amoun’s owners replaced U.S. investment bank Jefferies Group, which was hired in 2014 to explore a sale, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified as the process was private. Shareholders are now working with Goldman Sachs to pursue options including a sale, Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Roushdy said by phone.
The drugmaker may also consider an initial public offering, people with knowledge of the matter said last year.
The company’s owners include emerging market-focused private-equity arms of Capital Group, Concord International Investments, and the Rohatyn Group, the New York-based fund that agreed to buy Citigroup Inc.’s buyout business in 2013.
Buyout firms are stepping up acquisitions and exiting investments in Egypt amid improving markets and renewed political stability. Twinkie and Ho Ho producer Edita Food Industries SAE, part owned by London-based Actis, plans to float a 30 percent stake, selling shares in its home country and global depositary receipts on the London Stock Exchange, it said earlier this month.
The shareholders bought Amoun, which makes both veterinary and human drugs, for about $450 million in 2006. A sale could value the company at $700 million to $800 million, people with knowledge of the matter said in July. The drugmaker’s shareholders previously hired Jefferies to explore a potential sale, Roushdy said in May 2014.
Representatives for Concord International Investments, Capital Group and Rohatyn Group didn’t respond to requests seeking comment. Representatives for Jefferies and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.
Egyptian M&A has had a strong start to the year with $755 million of deals announced this quarter. Orange SA last month agreed to increase its stake in the Egyptian owner of the Mobinil mobile-phone brand for about 210 million euros ($231 million).
bloomberg.com
