Growth tonic

Corporate toddler Ascendis is now almost the same size as much older rival Adcock Ingram

f memory serves, I first met the prime movers behind acquisitive health brands conglomerate Ascendis in late 2012. I remember initially fobbing off a lunch meeting aimed at announcing two small acquisitions, then having my arm twisted by a former financial journalist who convinced me there was a bigger story around exciting private equity dealmakers and a potential listing.

Though the initial dealmaking involved relatively small operators, what I won’t forget was Ascendis’ unfettered growth ambitions. An acquisition spree was on the cards from the outset. This, I confess, triggered alarm bells. My perceptions of fast-growing acquisitive companies — probably to my portfolio’s detriment — will always be clouded by the startlingly sudden collapse of fast-growing health-care sector darling Macmed in the late 1990s.

When Ascendis bought

INimue Skin Technology and Scientific Sports Nutrition in mid-2013 for a collective R120m, the company had, at that point, spent a collective R620m on acquisitions in 18 months. Executives hinted there was more to come . . . a lot more. I wondered where Ascendis would find deal flows to support its growth ambitions without overpaying and overgearing or being sold a dud.

Last month Ascendis entered the big league, announcing a game-changing deal with the acquisition of Remedica Holdings (a generic pharmaceuticals manufacturer based in Cyprus) and Scitec International (a European sports nutrition company) for R4.4bn and R2.9bn respectively. These deals followed hard on the heels of the company’s international deal-making debut when it acquired a 40% stake in Spanish generics maker Farmalider in 2015.

Market perceptions have