Drugmaker Sanovel Hires Barclays for Sale After Abraaj Deal Collapsed

(Bloomberg) -- The owners of Turkish drugmaker Sanovel Ilac Sanayi ve Ticaret AS hired Barclays Plc to look into selling the company after a deal with Dubai's embattled Abraaj Group Ltd. collapsed, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

Turkish businessmen Ahmet and Zafer Toksoz are considering divesting all or part of the Istanbul-based firm after failing to reach a deal with Abraaj, the buyout firm that's being restructured, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Sanovel, Barclays and Abraaj declined to comment.

Abraaj had been weighing buying a minority holding in the producer of anti-inflammatory, anti-asthmatic and antibiotic medication, people familiar with the matter said in December. The buyout firm, once one of the developing world's most influential investors, is now working with provisional liquidators to restructure, just months after investors commissioned an audit to investigate the alleged mismanagement of cash at its $1 billion health-care fund.

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A sale is just one option being considered by Sanovel and it's not certain that a deal will take place, the people said. A transaction could be based on an enterprise value of at least $800 million, one person close to the company said. Sanovel is among the top-ten producers of generic drugs in Turkey.

--With assistance from Matthew Martin.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ercan Ersoy in Istanbul at eersoy@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stefania Bianchi at sbianchi10@bloomberg.net, Paul Armstrong

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