Turkish drugmaker Bilim Ilac may have found a private-equity investor. Reuters reports the pharma company is in talks to sell a stake to Actera, a Turkish-focused firm with a $500 million-plus fund devoted to investments in the country. A Bilim Ilac official told the news service the talks are expected to wrap up next month.
Actera is said to be buying a 10% stake in the company in a deal that would value Bilim Ilac at more than $900 million. The company is one of the two biggest drugmakers in Turkey. It has 120 marketed generic products from pain relievers to antibiotics to cardiovascular medicines, made in two Turkish manufacturing plants. While focused in Turkey, the company has been seeking to expand in international markets as well. One of Actera's stated goals is helping Turkish companies beef up their foreign operations.
Turkey is one of the countries drugmakers have targeted for growth as increases in drug sales decline in U.S. and Europe. Although its pharma market may not be as fast-growing as the highly touted Chinese and Indian markets, Turkey's growth is expected to outpace that in many other countries; it's been tagged by IMS Health as one of the 7 "pharmerging markets."
- see the news from Reuters