Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. has agreed to acquire Mercury (Cayman) Holdings, the holding company of Amoun Pharmaceutical, an Egyptian pharmaceutical company, for $800 million, plus contingent payments.

Amoun Pharmaceutical is the largest domestic company in the Egyptian pharmaceutical market and currently expects to reach EGP 1.75 billion ($223 million) by 2015, with annual growth of approximately 20%, according to information from Valeant. The company specializes in anti-hypertensives, broad spectrum antibiotics, and anti-diarrheals. Amoun also operates a pharma manufacturing plan in El Obour City, a suburb of Cairo. 

Valeant intends for Amoun to serve as a platform for further expansion in the broader Middle East and North Africa pharmaceutical market and expects the transaction to close in the third quarter, subject to customary closing conditions.

Source: Valeant Pharmaceuticals