Dive Brief:
- Chicago-based Abbott is buying CFR Pharmaceuticals, based in Santiago, Chile, for a little more than $3 billion.
- A major goal is to increase sales by entering the rapidly growing Latin American market.
- The acquisition comes with a strong drug portfolio and increased operational capacity.
Dive Insight:
The merger frenzy continues as Abbott seals the deal to buy CFR Pharmaceuticals, based in Santiago, Chile, for close to $3.4 billion. For Abbott, this acquisition will help augment their drug portfolio to offset the effects of the AbbVie spin-off in January 2013. This move will add 1,000 drugs to Abbott’s existing portfolio, in addition to 7,000 employees, a research & development team and manufacturing facilities in Chile, Colombia, Peru and Argentina.
The CFR acquisition also gives Abbott a presence in the Latin American market, which represents a major industry-wide opportunity for double-digit growth. Strategically, this move could help offset the large-scale genericization taking place in the U.S. IMS predicts robust growth for the Latin American market, with anticipated revenue growth from $73 billion in 2013 to $124 billion in 2018. With this acquisition, Abbott is positioning itself for double-digit growth and R&D progress.