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One of South Africa’s most enduring and respected pharmaceutical companies, Adcock Ingram, is preparing to delist from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on November 11, 2025, signaling the conclusion of a 135-year legacy in South African business history. This move comes in the wake of India’s Natco Pharma acquiring all remaining minority shares in the company through a USD 215 million (R4 billion) deal, approved earlier this year.
Founded in 1890 as a modest pharmacy in Krugersdorp, Adcock Ingram grew into one of the country’s most trusted pharmaceutical and healthcare names. Over more than a century, it has become synonymous with household products such as Panado, Myprodol, Epi-Max, and Allergex, which are widely used across South Africa and beyond.
Today, Adcock Ingram boasts a market value of approximately USD 645 million (R12 billion) and operates across multiple divisions—prescription medicines, consumer health products, and hospital supplies. Its evolution mirrors the broader growth of South Africa’s healthcare sector, adapting through decades of economic shifts, ownership changes, and global expansion.
Adcock Ingram’s relationship with the JSE began in 1950, a decade after the company opened its first manufacturing plant. Over the years, the firm has experienced several ownership transformations. It was acquired and delisted by Tiger Brands in 2000, relisted in 2008, and then became majority-owned by Bidvest Group in 2019, which currently controls about 65% of its shares.
Bidvest’s strategy was to retain Adcock as a semi-independent entity, integrating operations while allowing the pharmaceutical company to maintain its specialized focus. Under this structure, Adcock continued to thrive—acquiring Genop (owner of Epi-Max), purchasing Plush Professional Leather Care, and opening a second manufacturing facility in Bangalore, India, in 2023 to expand its global footprint.
The latest chapter in Adcock Ingram’s history began in July 2025, when Natco Pharma, a Hyderabad-based global pharmaceutical player with a market capitalization of roughly USD 1.6 billion (R30 billion), offered R75 (USD 4.10) per share to Adcock’s minority shareholders. The offer, approved in September 2025, paved the way for Natco’s full acquisition of the company.
Natco specializes in research, development, and global distribution of medicines, and the acquisition is seen as a strategic move to strengthen its position in Africa’s fast-growing pharmaceutical market.
According to Anchor Capital Equity Analyst, Sean Culverwell, the transaction reflects both Bidvest’s long-term confidence in Adcock’s stable earnings and Natco’s global expansion ambitions. “Natco’s move and Bidvest’s choice to hold both make sense to us,” Culverwell said. “This decision underscores Bidvest’s confidence in Adcock’s defensive earnings and domestic diversification, which still suit Bidvest’s local portfolio.”
He added that the delisting ends Adcock’s long period in what he termed “minority purgatory,” referencing the low share liquidity that followed Bidvest’s takeover. Trading in Adcock Ingram shares will end on November 10, 2025, with the formal delisting taking place the following day. The move represents not merely a corporate restructuring but the closure of a remarkable South African business legacy—one that shaped the country’s healthcare landscape and built trust across generations of patients and professionals alike.
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For many in the African healthcare and investment communities, Adcock Ingram’s exit from the JSE is the end of an era—a poignant reminder of how local pioneers can evolve into global players while leaving an indelible mark on the continent’s industrial and medical history.
