Affirma Capital and StonePine ACE Partners Limited have entered an agreement to jointly invest $20 million for a significant minority stake in Nerhadou International for Pharmaceuticals and Nutraceuticals, according to an emailed press release on February 1st.
Nerhadou is one of the largest and fastest-growing nutraceutical and pharmaceutical players and the first to introduce the oral dispersible film (ODF) technology in Egypt.
The transaction closing is pending regulatory approvals, including the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) and satisfaction of certain conditions agreed between the parties.
Renaissance Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor on behalf of Affirma Capital and StonePine, with White and Case acting as the legal advisor.
Meanwhile, ADIB Capital, the investment banking arm of ADIB Egypt, acted as the lead sell-side advisor on behalf of Nerhadou, while Al Tamimi and Company served as the legal advisor.
With the investment proceeds, Nerhadou plans to expand its existing operations and accelerate the launch of various innovative pipeline products in the Egyptian and regional markets.
“Nerhadou will be the first joint investment by Affirma Capital and StonePine in Egypt and will also support the broader Egypt-focused investment strategy for both firms which are in the process of evaluating and jointly executing further investment opportunities in Egypt,” the release highlighted.
The Egyptian pharmaceutical corporate has been identified by both Affirma Capital and StonePine as a “unique player” due to its significant presence and dominant market share across key nutraceutical product subsegments.
The pioneer ODF manufacturer has an attractive product pipeline comprising a number of innovative nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products.
Affirma Capital and StonePine are keen to support regional companies with strong management teams and founders and are actively seeking investment opportunities in Egypt and the broader MENA region.
“We are pleased to welcome aboard global investors such as Affirma Capital and StonePine to join us on our growth journey. Affirma and StonePine have been hands-on partners and have already helped us identify and execute on several value enhancement initiatives. We believe that their investment in Nerhadou will accelerate the company’s growth plans, solidify its market position, and bring the Company to IPO standards,” CEO of Nerhadou Mohamed Shalaby said.
For his part, Taimoor Labib, Founding Partner and Head of MENA & Chairman of Africa at Affirma Capital, stated: “We are very excited to partner with Nerhadou and its excellent management team. The Egyptian pharmaceutical sector is growing rapidly as Egypt continues to record stellar growth as a result of a highly favorable investment environment. We look forward to working with Nerhadou and to leveraging our global franchise to help them grow, both organically and inorganically.”
Moreover, Founder and CEO of StonePine Capital Partners and Head of StonePine ACE Fund Youssef Haidar said: “We are incredibly proud to partner and team up with Nerhadou. We believe in the potential of the Egyptian market, and the pharmaceutical sector offers an exceptional upside. We are excited to partner with Affirma Capital on this investment and we look forward to working together on future investments in Egypt.”