Recipharm To Acquire Corvette Pharmaceutical Group

Recipharm, a contract development and manufacturing organization, announced that it is acquiring Corvette Pharmaceutical Services Group (Corvette) for SEK 1.1 billion or for more than EUR 120 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, Recipharm will buy Corvette from Italian private equity Group LBO Italia Investimenti for its estimated 2013 revenue and EBITDA proforma financials. Fifty percent of payment will be made by cash while the remaining 50 percent will be made in the form of a convertible bond.

Corvette currently has three manufacturing facilities established in the Milan region of Northern Italy. The Masate site specializes in sterile injectable manufacturing while the Lainate facility focuses on bulk lyophilisation of sterile antibiotics. The Paderno Dugnano site develops and manufactures API and finished dose forms. Together, the three facilities employ 265 people and serve more than 100 clients, including global generic companies, big pharma, and mid-size specialty pharma firms.

Thomas Eldered, CEO of Recipharm, said that Corvette acquisition is aligned with the company’s strategic expansion. “We will be gaining access to a first class and largely new customer base as well as new capabilities and capacities that will add to our technology base… We are therefore looking forward to combining the assets of both organizations and working together with the management of Corvette to deliver benefit to all of our stakeholders.”

Recipharm said the acquisition will provide it access to emerging markets in new territories including Italy. Following the transaction, Recipharm will have an asset base in the five largest European pharmaceutical markets. This June, the company announced it has signed into collaboration with CTC Clinical Trial Consultants to develop and manufacture clinical trial material. In addition, the company is also engaged in an agreement with Stockholm-based Pharmanest for the manufacture of SHACT, a gynecological product, which could ultimately be distributed throughout the company’s newly acquired target areas.

The transaction with Corvette is expected to be completed at the first of October this year.