European private equity fund CVC, Singapore's Temasek to buy generics firm Alvogen
Monday, June 22, 2015
European private equity fund CVC and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek [TEM.UL] are to buy a controlling stake in the pharmaceutical firm Alvogen, its chairman and chief executive said.
Robert Wessman, former CEO of Actavis, founded the New Jersey-based generic drugs firm in 2009.
The size of the stake the consortium purchased was not disclosed, but the deal values the company at around $2 billion (£1.3 billion), a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.
Wessman sold a stake in the business to the private equity fund Pamplona in 2014. The new owners also include U.S. investment group Vatera Healthcare Partners. Wessman and Pamplona will retain a stake.
The fast-growing company currently has 350 generic products on the market and has been pushing into the Asia-Pacific region with several acquisitions, including that of South Korea's Dream Pharma last year.
"We have grown from a small base in the U.S. back in 2009 to a global player with operations in 35 countries," Wessman told Reuters. "Our growth has been 76 percent a year in the past six years, a majority being organic, but with access to network and capital from our partners you should expect to see more acquisitions."
"We want to be a company that can build up one of the leading positions in Asia Pacific, and on a global level we expect to be among the leading companies in a few years from now."
He explained Alvogen's strategy as focussing on high-growth emerging markets, developing a "difficult to make" product portfolio in the U.S. market, and building a strong presence in biosimilars.
Alvogen’s current revenue this year stands at $750 million, with core earnings (EBITDA) of $220 million.
CVC has just bought the theatre production company Stage and the German perfume business Douglas, and recently hired Goldman Sachs dealmaker Alex Dibelius as a managing partner.
Generic drugs are manufactured once the patent for a branded drug has expired, and sold more cheaply than their original counterparts.
Jefferies acted as financial adviser to the investment consortium, while Goldman Sachs advised Alvogen and Pamplona.
uk.reuters.com
