Johannesburg - South African pharmaceutical firm Adcock Ingram Holdings appointed Brian Joffe as chairman on Wednesday, a widely expected move after the industrial magnate helped scupper a foreign takeover.
Joffe is also chief executive at Bidvest, a logistics-to-food conglomerate that made a counter offer to acquire Adcock Ingram when Chile's CFR came calling in 2013.
When Adcock's board, led by then-chairman Khotso Mokhele, snubbed Bidvest's offer, Bidvest started acquiring chunks of South Africa's second-biggest drug company, eventually sinking CFR's 12.8 billion rand takeover bid with the help of another major shareholder.
Last week, the two shareholders toppled Mokhele, who had argued CFR was a better fit because it would broaden Adcock's geographic footprint and fill the gaps in the product offering.
Joffe has an established track record of buying poorly performing companies and turning them around by improving cash flow, capital allocation and returns.
Adcock's shares are down more than 14 percent so far this year. - Reuters