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The head office and logo of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. in Montreal.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., the drugmaker on an acquisition streak, surpassed Royal Bank of Canada as the country's largest company by market value.

Valeant surged 4.7 per cent to $326.96 per share for a market value of $111.6-billion ($85.6-billion U.S.) at 12:11 p.m. on the Toronto Stock Exchange. That eclipsed Royal Bank's $108.2-billion value, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Toronto- based Royal Bank is Canada's largest lender by assets.

Valeant surged after boosting its 2015 profit forecast while posting second-quarter results that beat analysts' estimates. Mike Pearson, chief executive officer of the Laval, Quebec-based company, has inked at least 11 deals in the past 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Valeant has advanced 97 per cent this year, leapfrogging many of Canada's largest companies and making it the second-best performing stock on the Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite index this year. The drugmaker surpassed Toronto-Dominion Bank in May, after climbing past Bank of Nova Scotia in February. Valeant has also hurdled Canadian National Railway Co., Enbridge Inc. and Bank of Montreal during the past 12 months.

Royal Bank of Canada has fallen 6.5 per cent this year, compared with the 7.2-per-cent decline in the eight-member S&P/TSX Composite Banks Index. Financial stocks have dropped amid investor concerns over a slowing economy and declines in oil prices and commodities.

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