The Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma Ltd has entered into a definite agreement with global generics maker Apotex to acquire its business in Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Spain and Belgium.

The cost of the acquisition will be 74 million euros. It will be an all-cash transaction with no debt part for Aurobindo. The transaction will be completed in the next three to six months, subject to clearances by the Dutch and Polish authorities. As part of the agreement, Aurobindo will be buy Apotex’s commercial operations and certain supporting infrastructure in five European countries.

“The acquisition is in line with our strategy to grow and diversify our business in Europe. This will allow us to further expand our product offering, including OTC medicines in Netherlands, and considerably strengthen our position in Eastern Europe,’’ V. Muralidharan, Senior Vice-President, European Operations, Aurobindo Pharma, said in a release issued here on Saturday.

The acquisition includes a portfolio of over 200 prescription drugs and 88 OTC products and an additional pipeline of over 20 products, which are expected to be launched over the next two years. In the fiscal year ended March 2018, net sales for the acquired business was 133 million euros.

Aurobindo and Apotex will enter into a transitional manufacturing and supply agreement to support the ongoing growth plans of these businesses. Aurobindo has been expanding its European footprint since 2006, in both organic and inorganic ways. Last year it acquired Generis Farmaceutica in Portugal. Earlier, in 2014, it acquired Actavis’s commercial operations in seven western European countries.

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