Buy-side advisory to Actavis in its acquisition of 90% stake in Fako and Abfar, two Turkish pharma players in Turkey

On 3 December 2003, Pharmaco, a global pharmaceutical company with an already established presence in 17 countries acquired approximately 90% equity stake in a Turkish pharmaceutical concern, Fako. Founded in 1956 by Kaya Turgut, who still serves as the President of the company, Fako is Turkey’s fourth largest local pharmaceutical company with an expected turnover of approximately USD90 million in 2003.

Founded and headquartered in Iceland, Pharmaco (Actavis) is now one of Europe’s fastest-growing major generics companies. This growth has been driven by strong organic growth driven by a very strong product pipeline combined with an extremely active M&A effort.

Pharmaco pursued the acquisition sale as part of the group’s already declared strategy of achieving external growth through the acquisition of other companies. The Directors of Pharmaco believe that the acquisition has significant implications for Pharmaco’s future growth in terms of enhanced market position and potential synergies. Pharmaco plans leverage Fako’s strong platform in the Turkish market with the launch of its product pipeline into the domestic market. Furthermore, Fako brings with it first-class production facilities that may be utilized to fulfill the group’s requirements.