* Aspen hits all-time high on $263 mln OTC deal
* Traders see choppy trade in coming weeks
JOHANNESBURG, April 20 (Reuters) – South African stocks rose
for a fourth day on Friday as generic drug maker Aspen
Pharmacare hit an all-time high after announcing a $263
million deal with Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline.
More widely, local stocks tracked foreign markets higher
though choppy trade was seen in the week ahead with juries still
out on Europe’s seemingly never-ending debt problems.
Aspen said it would pay $263 million for a clutch of
international over-the-counter brands from GlaxoSmithKline. The
brands being sold generated sales of around 60 million pounds
($96.37 million) in 2011.
Shares in the company shot up to an all-time high of 124.01
rand, according to Reuters data, before closing 5.93 percent
higher at 122.89 rand.
“Aspen seems to be beefing up its category presence in
analgesic (painkillers), which is a top selling category, hence
it’s important to have strong portfolio of products in this
area,” said Nino Frodema, a fund manager at Momentum Asset
Management.
The benchmark blue-chip Top-40 index ended up 0.25
percent to 30,185.77, while the broader All-Share index
closed 0.32 percent higher at 34,216.55.
Other gainers included South African bank FirstRand
, up 3.35 percent to 24.70 rand and RMB Holdings
, up 3.07 percent to 32.90 rand.
Continued…
