Valeant Pharmaceuticals International has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Mercury (Cayman) Holdings, the holding company of Amoun Pharmaceutical, for approximately $800 million, plus contingent payments.

Amoun Pharmaceutical is a domestic company in the Egyptian pharmaceutical market and currently expects to reach $220 million by 2015, with annual growth of approximately 20%. Amoun operates a large, state-of-the-art manufacturing plant and has pharmaceutical brands in therapeutic areas such as anti-hypertensives, broad spectrum antibiotics and anti-diarrheals.    

Valeant intends for Amoun to serve as a platform for further expansion in the broader Middle East and North Africa pharmaceutical market and expects the transaction to close in the third quarter, subject to customary closing conditions.