Bayer Buys Central American Generics Firm For $40 Mill

Bayer AG of Germany has acquired Corporacion Bonima SA de CV, a leading generics drug company based in El Salvador, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Bayer Generics Holding GmbH. The acquisition price is given as $40 million.

Bonima is a nearly wholly-owned subsidiary of US pharmaceutical wholesaler McKesson; the latter's products are well-established in the Central American market under the McK brand name, according to Bayer. Bonima's sales in 1994 - almost half of which were antibiotics - amounted to $22 million, with a return on sales of approximately 20% before taxes.