Aspen sells baby formula unit to French dairy group Lactalis
The drugmaker's shares have fallen sharply after it released full-year results and announced the sale
Aspen Pharmacare, Africa’s largest drug manufacturer, has agreed to sell its infant formula business to French dairy group Lactalis International for €739.8m (about R12.8bn) and says it will consider further disposals. The deal will enable the drugmaker’s Asia Pacific, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa divisions to focus on the main pharmaceutical operations, the South African company said on Thursday. The unit, known as global nutritionals, contributed R3.09bn to revenue and R512m to profit in the year to end-June. Aspen, which sells products such as hormones, anaesthetics and antiretroviral medicines in more than 150 countries, said in January it was weighing options for the infant-formula unit following an unsolicited approach last year. Aspen said on Thursday that it would use about €62m of the proceeds of the sale to buy out its joint venture partners in New Zealand and China. The rest will be used to reduce gearing. The deal is subject to the regulatory approval, including ...
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