Hikma Pharmaceuticals is beginning to look a tad accident-prone. The pharmaceuticals company started in the Middle East but has expanded into the United States to lessen its exposure to less reliable economies and broaden the range of compounds it can offer.
There was a profit warning last autumn concerning a generic product for gout in the US, which was delayed on its route to market. The company dipped out of the FTSE 100 for a while but has been reinstated. Last year it agreed to acquire a third large business in the US, Roxane Laboratories.
Acquisitions in pharmaceuticals are always risky because the businesses change hands on high multiples that offer little margin for error. Hikma was able to negotiate down the amount it