Mar 8, 2022

18-02-2022 12:30:00 | by: Pie Kamau | hits: 1842 | Tags: Affirma Capital and StonePine StonePine have jointly agreed to invest $20 million for a minority stake in Nerhadou, one of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical players and a pioneer oral dispersible film (ODF) manufacturer in Egypt. Mohamed Shalaby, CEO of Nerhadou, said: “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.” Affirma Capital and StonePine identified Nerhadou as a unique player due to its sizeable presence and dominant market share across key nutraceutical product subsegments and its significant technological capabilities in terms of being the first to introduce ODF technology in Egypt. Nerhadou also has an attractive product pipeline consisting of several innovative nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products, both in ODF and conventional dosage forms. With the investment proceeds, Nerhadou plans to expand the Company’s existing operations and expedite the launch of multiple innovative pipeline products in the Egyptian and regional markets. 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.” The transaction closing remains subject to regulatory approvals including the Egyptian Drug Authority and satisfaction of certain conditions agreed between the parties. 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. Affirma Capital and StonePine are committed to backing regional champions with strong management teams and founders and continue to actively seek investment opportunities in Egypt and the broader MENA region. Youssef Haidar, Founder and CEO of StonePine Capital Partners and Head of StonePine ACE Fund, stated: “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.” Renaissance Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor on behalf of Affirma Capital and StonePine, supported by White & Case as legal advisors. ADIB Capital (investment banking arm of ADIB Egypt) acted as the lead sell side advisor on behalf of Nerhadou, supported by Al Tamimi & Company as legal advisors.