Hypermarcas Continues Shopping Spree

Brazilian consumer products company Hypermarcas has continued its shopping spree, acquiring generic medication maker Laboratorio Neo Quimica for BRL1.4bn. Hypermarcas will pay BRL687.7m in cash in 3 installments, and issue 15.5m common shares to finance the deal. Hypermarcas says it will merge its subsidiary Hypernova, which makes over-the-counter medicines, with Neo Quimica. In September, local press had reported that Pfizer was interested in acquiring Neo Quimica, whose 2009 Ebitda is about BRL95m, according to Hypermarcas. The deal was privately negotiated. Earlier this year, Hypermarcas was very active in the Brazilian M&A scene, also acquiring the Jontex condom brand from Johnson & Johnson, Brazil condom maker INAL, hygiene products maker Pom Pom and cosmetics company Hydrogen.