Roemmers LAC

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The proposed IFC investment comprises three loans totaling up to US$315 million equivalent (“the Project”) to three subsidiaries (the “Borrowers”) of Cormoran de Bilbao S.L. (“Roemmers” or the “Group”). The first loan will be provided to Laboratorios Siegfried S.A. (“Siegfried Panama”), Laboratorios Siegfried S.A.S. (“Siegfried Colombia”), and the funds will support the acquisition of Activa, S.A de C.V., Activa Energy, S.A. de C.V., and Activa Guatemala, S.A. de C.V. (together “Pharmedic”), a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, distribution center, warehouses and administrative offices in El Salvador. The second loan will be provided to Siegfried Colombia, to construct a new plant, as an expansion of the existing pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Colombia and to acquire equipment. Finally, the third loan will be provided to Siegfried Rhein, S.A. de C.V. (“Siegfried Mexico”) to build a new pharmaceutical manufacturing plant and to acquire a new brand of an electrolyte effervescent tablets in Mexico.  Roemmers Group is the largest pharma manufacturer in Argentina. The Group, which focuses on affordable and branded generics, has vast knowledge and experience in pharma manufacturing, having successfully acquired and invested in twelve countries across Latin America & the Caribbean (“LAC”) including Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Siegfried Colombia is amongst the top pharmaceutical companies in Colombia, developing, manufacturing and marketing over the counter medicines, prescription drugs and personal care products (mostly branded generics). It owns two manufacturing facilities in the country. The new plant in Colombia will be constructed on land owned by Siegfried Colombia since May 2008. Construction will begin in August 2024, and operations will start in September 2025.  Siegfried Mexico is a Mexico-based, pharmaceutical company focused on the development, manufacture, and sales of branded generic medicines. Siegfried Mexico (and its affiliates) owns two pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in the Benito Juarez industrial park in the city of Queretaro, Mexico. Siegfried Mexico acquired 7 hectares (ha) of land inside the Industrial Park Polígono Empresarial San Miguel for the construction of a new plant. Construction is expected to initiate in Q1 2025, and the plant will enter operation by 2027. Siegfried Panama is the regional hub for Roemmers’ operations in Central America. It operates a warehouse in a “free trade” zone in Panama. Even though Siegfried Colombia and Siegfried Panama are legally independent entities (affiliates companies), Siegfried Colombia manages the operations in Central America including Panama, El Salvador, and Colombia. The general manager and finance director in Panama report to Siegfried Colombia’s CEO and CFO, respectively.  Pharmedic´s facilities are located on a 7,000 m2 land with a constructed area of 4,160 m2. The plant has the following manufacturing areas: tablets, coated tablets, hard gelatin capsules in micro granules and powder, granules, liquids and semi-solids. In addition, Pharmedic has small commercial offices in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras.  IFC has past exposure to Group´s subsidiaries since 2018 through projects Farmoquimica in Brazil, Siegfried Mexico in Mexico and Siegfried-Col in Colombia (please refer following links for further information: (i) https://disclosures.ifc.org/project-detail/ESRS/39739/farmoquimica; (ii) https://disclosures.ifc.org/project-detail/ESRS/42036/siegfried; and (iii) https://disclosures.ifc.org/project-detail/ESRS/42371/siegfried-col. The E&S performance of these projects in portfolio has been generally satisfactory.