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APN - Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited - Voluntary announcement not a Trading

Release Date: 18/03/2010 09:55
Code(s): APN
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APN - Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited - Voluntary announcement not a Trading update as previously announced Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited (Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa) (Registration number 1985/002935/06) Share code: APN & ISIN: ZAE000066692 ("Aspen") Aspen and Strides restructure Oncology arrangements Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited ("Aspen"), and Strides Arcolab Limited, today announced a restructuring of their arrangements relating to the two oncology joint ventures between Aspen and Strides, Onco Therapies Limited ("OTL"), India and Onco Laboratories Limited ("OLL"), Cyprus. The transactions The following are the material terms of the restructuring: a Aspen Global Incorporated will sell its 50% ownership in the Oncology JVs to Strides for a consideration of USD 117 million; b Strides will license the existing and future oncology products to Pharmacare Limited, an Aspen Group company, for certain territories; c The effective date of the above transactions is the first day of the month following the fulfillment of the conditions precedent which include, inter alia, the approval of the Exchange Control Department of the Reserve Bank of South Africa; d The payment terms are based upon certain future milestones with an outside date for settlement of all outstanding amounts by 30 April 2011. Rationale The transactions signal the strategic intent of Aspen and of Strides in the oncology market. The transactions compliment Aspen`s focus on sourcing differentiated products for supply through its international distribution network which reaches approximately 100 countries worldwide. Aspen already has a developing oncology business in most of these territories. Central to the Strides strategy is the enhancement of its manufacturing and development capabilities in its Specialties business. To this end, Strides has built capacities in facilities and development. This includes the establishment of world class sterile assets in India, Europe, the recent acquisition of the Campos facility in Brazil, and taking over full ownership of the Oncology JVs. The value of these assets has been demonstrated by the attraction of numerous leading pharmaceutical partners, including multinationals. Stephen Saad, Aspen Group Chief Executive said: "Through these agreements we continue to build on the strong partnership we enjoy with Strides. Each party now does what they do best. Our focus is commercialisation of these niche products in our territories. Aspen has and is building its own oncology product franchise. The existing and future pipeline of products from the Strides Group will be an important contributor in achieving this objective. There is a clear definition now of responsibilities and focus. The close association forged over the last decade continues. We believe that these transactions, together with their current expertise, leave Strides well positioned in their endeavours to grow their global sterile business." Arun Kumar, Vice Chairman and Group CEO of Strides said "While the restructuring of the oncology arrangements with Aspen provides Strides greater focus and ownership of a key domain in our specialties division, we are delighted to strengthen our existing strong partnership with Aspen by entering into a licensing agreement in territories where Aspen has established distribution." Johannesburg 18 March 2010 Sponsor Investec Bank Limited Date: 18/03/2010 09:55:01 Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited (`JSE`). The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers, employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature, howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on, information disseminated through SENS.

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