(Yicai Global) Oct. 30 -- Chinese drug industry titan Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. [SHA:600196] plans to acquire a French firm for USD73 million (EUR63 million). The latter is the third largest pharmaceutical distribution company in the French-speaking region of West Africa.

Fosun Pharmaceutical said Oct. 27 that it signed a share transfer agreement with Tridem Pharma SAS and its shareholders. Fosun Pharmaceutical plans to buy Tridem Pharma in two phases. In the first, it will purchase 82 percent of the target's shares for EUR46 million. In the second, it will acquire the rest of the shares for EUR 17 million. It expects to complete the deal in 2020.

Founded in 1986 and headquartered in the city of Escalquens in France, Tridem Pharma mainly engages in the export and distribution of pharmaceutical products to French-speaking African countries and France's overseas territories. It has over 200 wholesalers, 600 salespeople and a sales network that covers 21 countries and regions.

The acquisition will complete Fosun Pharmaceutical's in-depth cooperation with international marketing platforms and western pharmaceutical enterprises, Fosun Pharmaceutical said. The group said it will continue to expand into European and African markets.

The Chinese firm previously purchased a 74-percent stake in Indian pharmaceutical giant Gland Pharma Ltd. for USD1.09 billion, the highest amount a Chinese drug company spent in an overseas merger or acquisition. The parties closed the deal on Oct. 3.