Recordati has hit the acquisition trail in Turkey again and is buying Frik Ilac, one of the fastest-growing pharmaceutical companies in the country.
The Italian drugmaker is splashing out around $130 million for the Istanbul-headquartered firm. The deal will be funded from existing liquidity and is the second acquisition Recordati has made in Turkey, where it acquired Yeni Ilac in December 2008.
Frik Ilac, founded 64 years ago, “has a core portfolio of original prescription products both in primary care and specialist areas”, Recordati notes. It has 350 staff, of which around 260 are medical reps, and net sales in 2010 were in the region of 44 million euros.
Chief executive Giovanni Recordati said the acquisition “is an important step forward in our strategy to increase our business in the emerging markets of central and eastern Europe”, which are growing “at rates significantly greater than those of the western European market”.
He added that the purchase of Frik Ilac means that Turkey is now Recordati’s third most important market after Italy and France. It is expected to continue growing at average rates of 10%-13% in the next few years.
Mr Recordati concluded by saying that “thanks to the addition of the new products acquired to our portfolio and the launch of our corporate products, the growth of our Turkish operations will exceed the market trend”.
