The British drug maker Hikma Pharmaceutical PLC said on Tuesday it has entered negotiations to acquire some of the assets of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in Egypt and Tunisia as part of a wider deal.

In an official statement, Hikma said it is in talks to acquire the assets and stakes owned by some GSK subsidiaries in Egypt and Tunisia, including the drug maker’s pharmaceutical, consumer commercialization, and manufacturing business.

"Hikma confirms that it has entered into a non-binding term sheet with GSK for the purposes of potentially acquiring GSK’s interests in certain entities it conducts, and assets comprising GSK’s pharmaceutical and consumer commercialization and manufacturing business in Egypt and GSK’s pharmaceutical business in Tunisia," read the statement.

Hikma, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, first entered the Egyptian pharmaceutical market in 2007 as Hikma Egypt through the acquisition of Alkan Pharma in Egypt.

Meanwhile, GSK was established in Egypt in 1981 as GSK SAE. The British Glaxo Group Limited, the biggest shareholder in GSK SAE, owns 91.2 percent of the business stake, while QNB Al-Ahly owns 5.9 percent and other Egyptian shareholders hold 2.9 percent.

The statement was released in response to a disclosure made on Tuesday to the Egyptian Exchange by GSK SAE on the negotiations.

Further discussions between Hikma and GSK over the proposed deal depend on the outcomes of the due diligence exercise Hikma will conduct, the statement added.

"The proposed transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including the finalisation of definitive and legally binding documents and the completion of due diligence by Hikma. As such, there can be no guarantee at this stage that the proposed transaction will progress," Hikma noted.

Hikma said further details on the percentage of stakes that it is planning to buy will be provided later.