Valeant sets sights on Mideast, North Africa with Amoun purchase

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. says it will buy a major Egyptian pharmaceutical company for about $800 million US as a platform for further expansion in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Quebec-based company says it has a definite agreement to buy Amoun Pharmaceutical from Mercury (Cayman) Holdings.

The deal will include Amoun's manufacturing plant, which Valeant says is one of the largest and most modern in the region.

Amoun also has branded products for the treatment of hypertension, infections and diarrhea.

If the transaction closes as planned, it will be Valeant's biggest acquisition since it paid $11.1 billion USto buy Salix Pharmaceuticals in a deal that closed April 1 after a bidding war with Irish rival Endo International.