In a deal worth approximately ZAR10.06 B (US$1 B), South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare, the ninth largest generics company in the world, has agreed to buy Merck & Co.’s Netherlands-based API manufacturing business and has taken an option to acquire a portfolio of 11 branded finished dosage form drugs, including corticosteroids, oral contraceptives and an anticoagulant. The acquisition will help further broaden Aspen’s portfolio beyond generics and expand its presence in Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific.