Sun Pharma Buys Stake in Hungary Co.

Posted AtFinancial Express

MUMBAI, AUGUST 10 : Indian drug maker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. said on Wednesday it had acquired a stake in ICN Company Hungary Ltd. from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International.The purchase of the raw materials and dosage form manufacturing operations in Hungary gave Sun an early opportunity to enter the European generic market, its chairman Dilip Shanghvi said in a statement.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Valeant said in a statement posted on its Web site that it had reported the sold operations as discontinued operations earlier.

"The sale of Hungary represents the final piece of our planned divestiture of non-core operations," Timothy Tyson, Valeant's chief executive officer, said.

He said the divestiture of the company's remaining manufacturing facilities continued to advance and that Valeant was confident it would reduce its network to 4 manufacturing sites by the end of 2006.

Shares of Sun, India's second-largest pharmaceutical company by market value, rose 2.5 percent to 615 rupees in the afternoon.

($1 = 43.5 Indian rupees)

August 10, 2005