Reuters quoted two government sources on Thursday as saying that the Competition Council in Morocco imposed a fine on the giant American pharmaceutical company, Viatris, worth 7.58 million dirhams ($760,000) for failing to notify the council about a merger.
Viatris was established in 2020 through the merger of Mylan, which has a branch in Morocco, and Pfizer’s Upjohn unit.
The two sources, who requested to remain anonymous, said that the fine – equivalent to 2.5% of Viatris’ revenues in Morocco last year – had already been paid.
They added that Viatris – which operates around the world – declined to appeal the decision.
The Competition Council in Morocco intends to consider mergers and acquisitions involving other companies that have not notified it as well.
One of the sources said that these operations may include a joint venture between the giant phosphate and fertilizer company (OCB) and Fertinagro Biotech, and the Turkish home appliance company “Arçelik”’s acquisition of Whirlpool’s operations in the Middle East and North Africa.
Viatris, which is based in Pennsylvania, had revenues of $3.8 billion in the third quarter of the current year.
The company’s share price, listed on the US Nasdaq index, reached $13.24 at the time of writing this report.
