HIK Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc

RNS Number:5551J
Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc
10 December 2007


         Hikma acquires APM to strengthen its leading position in MENA


LONDON, 10 December 2007 - Following its announcement on 7 October 2007, Hikma
Pharmaceuticals PLC ("Hikma" or "the Company") (LSE: HIK) (DIFX: HIK), the
multinational pharmaceuticals group, announces that its offer (the "Offer") to
acquire the entirety of Arab Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Company ("APM") (ASE:
APMC), for a cash consideration of JD116.0 million ($163.6 million), has been
accepted by APM shareholders at an Extraordinary General Assembly held yesterday
in Amman, Jordan.


Strategic rationale


The acquisition of APM:

 *  Enhances Hikma's leadership position in the fast growing MENA region,
    particularly in the key markets of Jordan and Saudi Arabia

 *  Brings together high quality and complementary portfolios that can be
    distributed through the enlarged Hikma network

 *  Adds an attractive range of in-licensed products, including Takeda's
    blockbuster diabetes drug, Actos(R)

 *  Significantly enhances Hikma's product development pipeline

 *  Strengthens Hikma as a licensing partner of choice in the MENA region,
    with a combined sales and marketing team of 1000 employees

 *  Brings additional high quality manufacturing capacity with broad
    capabilities

 *  Slightly accretive to earnings in 2008, on a cash EPS basis(1)


Hikma will finance the acquisition through new committed debt facilities
although the Company also continues to review actively other financing options,
including a potential equity issuance. The Company expects to assume control of
APM by the end of the year.



Said Darwazah, CEO of Hikma, commented:

"The acquisition of APM further consolidates our strong position in the MENA
region and enhances our opportunities for growth across all of these markets. We
see clear opportunities for synergies through a complementary pipeline, an
enlarged sales and marketing team and increased manufacturing scale. We are
tremendously excited about the potential of this combination and I look forward
to working with APM's experienced and successful team."


Consolidating Hikma's Jordanian market position(2)

In the first half of 2007, 27% of APM's sales were generated in Jordan, where it
is the third largest pharmaceutical manufacturer with a market share of
approximately 5%. The acquisition of APM will strengthen Hikma's market position
in Jordan, increasing its market share to approximately 12%, and will create
clear commercial and operational synergies.


Enhancing Hikma's leadership position in the MENA region(1)

APM currently distributes its products in more than 25 countries, including 14
MENA markets. APM's strong presence in these MENA countries will help further to
consolidate Hikma's position as the leading pharmaceutical manufacturer in the
region. APM has a market share in Saudi Arabia, its largest market, of just over
1%. With Hikma's 3.9% of the Saudi market, the combined Group will have a market
share of approximately 5%. Other important markets for APM include the United
Arab Emirates and the other Gulf Cooperation Council ("GCC") countries, Iraq,
Tunisia and Yemen.

Gaining scale through complementary product portfolios

APM's currently marketed portfolio of 106 products and 221 dosage strengths and
forms will enhance the product offering available to Hikma's enlarged sales
force by expanding existing product lines, strengthening existing therapeutic
areas and adding new molecules. APM's portfolio includes oral, injectable and
dermatological products and spans a number of therapeutic categories, including
cardiovascular, diabetes and oncology. APM has recently received FDA approval to
manufacture and market an anti-viral product in the US market. APM's products
will also be leveraged to create new revenue opportunities, by introducing them
into markets like Algeria and Egypt, where Hikma already has a presence.

APM also brings a portfolio of 5 in-licensed products, including Actos(R),
Takeda's blockbuster drug for the treatment of diabetes. Hikma's expertise in
marketing in-licensed products and the strength of the combined sales force
should drive incremental sales of these products.

Hikma will also benefit from APM's pipeline of 35 products.

Expanding Hikma's sales and marketing team

Combining Hikma and APM's sales and marketing teams will create one of the
largest sales and marketing forces in the MENA region. APM will add a sales
force of more than 200, bringing the combined team to over 1,000 employees. This
will make Hikma an even more attractive partner for licensing.

Leveraging APM's technical and manufacturing capabilities

APM's strong technical and research and development expertise can be combined
with Hikma's excellent sales and marketing capabilities and international
management skills to maximise the potential of the enlarged group.

APM has high quality manufacturing facilities which are complementary to Hikma's
existing facilities and capabilities and will help to expand current
manufacturing capacity. Its three primary manufacturing plants are located in
Jordan and include facilities for the manufacture of oral and injectable
penicillins, topical preparations, and lyophilised oncology products.

APM's solid financial position

For the year ended 31 December 2006, APM had net sales of JD 29.1 million ($41.0
million), operating income of JD 5.7 million ($8.0 million) and net income of JD
5.1 million ($7.2 million). At the end of 2006, APM had total assets of JD 65.2
million ($91.9 million) and total liabilities of JD 8.5 million ($11.9 million).
In the six months to 30 June 2007, APM achieved net sales of JD 18.0 million
($25.4 million), operating income of JD 3.6 million ($5.1 million) and net
income of JD 3.5 million ($4.9 million). This strong performance is expected to
be maintained in the second half of the year.

Hikma expects significant revenue synergies to be derived from the distribution
of APM's product across its network. Further synergies are expected to be
derived from the increase in production capacity, operational efficiencies and
enhanced R&D capabilities. The Company currently expects one-off integration
costs of approximately $3.0 million.

Merrill Lynch International is acting as exclusive financial adviser to Hikma
Pharmaceuticals PLC.

Conference call and audio webcast

Said Darwazah, Chief Executive Officer and Bassam Kanaan, Chief Financial
Officer, will host a conference call on Monday 10 December 2007 for analysts and
investors at 15.00 hrs (GMT). The conference call will be audio webcast and can
be accessed through the Company website www.hikma.com. To participate in the
conference call, please dial +44 (0)208 817 9301 from within in the UK or +1 886
629 2704 from the United States. A recording of the conference call will be
available for seven days. To listen, please dial +44 (0)20 7806 1970 or +1 866
239 0765 and enter the pass code 4918047#.

                                    - ENDS -


Enquiries:

Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC
Susan Ringdal                                     +44 20 7399 2760
Investor Relations Director

Brunswick Group
Jon Coles / Justine McIlroy / Alex Tweed          +44 20 7404 5959




About Hikma

Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC is a fast growing multinational group focused on
developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad range of both branded and
non-branded generic and in-licensed products. Hikma's operates through three
businesses: "Branded", "Injectables" and "Generics", based principally in the
Middle East and North Africa ("MENA"), where it is a market leader and sells
across 18 countries, the United States and Europe. In 2006, Hikma achieved
revenues of $317 million (2005: $262 million), operating profit of $75.2 million
(2005: $69.2 million) and profit attributable to shareholders of $55 million
(2005: $44 million). In the first half of 2007, Hikma achieved revenues of
$224.9 million (H1 2006: $154.9 million), operating profit of $51.8 million (H1
2006: $42.2 million) and profit attributable to shareholders of $36.8 million
(H1 2006: $30.9 million). At 31 December 2006, the Group had over 2,400
employees. For news and other information, please visit www.hikma.com.

About APM

APM is a well-established pharmaceutical company that develops and manufactures
its own branded generic products. APM also manufacturers and markets a number of
in-licenced products from leading global pharmaceutical companies. APM's
products are distributed in more than 25 countries and its 200-strong sales and
marketing team operates across 14 MENA markets.

Completion

In accordance with Jordanian company acquisition procedures, the Company will
now transfer funds into an escrow settlement account to effect the cash
consideration payment to APM shareholders in connection with its acquisition of
APM. Following deposit of the consideration by Hikma, the Companies Control
Department will issue confirmations to allow the Securities Deposit Centre to
affect the registration of Hikma's ownership of the entire issued share capital
of APM, following which APM will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hikma.



This material does not contain or constitute an offer for sale or the
solicitation of an offer to purchase securities in the United States. Any
securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the
US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") or with any
securities regulatory authority of any State or other jurisdiction of the United
States, and accordingly may not be offered or sold in the United States or to or
for the account or benefit of U.S. persons (as such terms are defined in
Regulation S under the Securities Act) absent registration under the Securities
Act or an applicable exemption from such registration. There will be no public
offering of any securities referred to herein in the United States.

Certain statements made in this announcement are forward looking statements.
Such forward looking statements are based on current expectations and numerous
assumptions regarding the Company's present and future business strategies and
the environments in which the Company will operate in the future. Such
assumptions may or may not prove to be correct and actual results and
performance could differ materially from any expected further results or
performances, express or implied, by the forward looking statements. Factors
that might cause forward looking statements to differ materially from actual
results include, among other things, changes in global, political, economic,
business, competitive, market and regulatory forces, future exchange and
interest rates and future business combinations or disposals. The Company
expressly disclaims and assumes no responsibility to update or revise any of the
forward looking statements contained in this announcement to reflect any change
in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events,
conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Merrill Lynch International is acting exclusively for Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC
and its subsidiaries and no one else in connection with the Offer and will not
be responsible to anyone other than Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC and its
subsidiaries for providing the protections afforded to customers of Merrill
Lynch International or for giving advice in relation to the Offer.



(1) Cash EPS excludes the impact of amortisation of definite life intangibles
    arising from the acquisition and is presented before one-off costs.

(2) Market share data sourced from IMS Health and represents annualized sales
    through July 2007.



                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END
MSCGUGQWPUPMGPU

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LSE:HIK)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LSE:HIK)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024