CVC leads effort to buy stake in pharma Alvogen
A CONSORTIUM of investors led by CVC Capital Partners, and including Singapore-based sovereign wealth fund Temasek and Vatera Healthcare Partners, yesterday acquired a controlling stake in Alvogen, the US pharmaceutical company.
The bilateral deal values the privately held company at $2bn (£1.3bn), including debt.
The shares come from Pamplona Capital Management’s stake, and the investment managers will retain a small interest.
This is the latest pharma deal in a global trend which has seen $250bn worth of pharmaceutical mergers and acquisitions so far this year.
Alvogen has delivered double digit revenue and profit growth since it was founded in 2009, expanding from its North American base to operate in 35 countries, mainly in eastern Europe and Asia. Alvogen’s current revenue stands at $750m.
The company’s founder and chief executive, Robert Wessman, former boss of Actavis, will remain in position and as a minority stake holder. He only sold a stake to Pamplona last year.
Wessman said: “I am delighted to welcome such a prestigious consortium of new investors on board. Collectively they will help take Alvogen towards its ambition of being one of the leading generic [drug] players in the world today.”
He has previously said he aims to make Alvogen one of the industry’s top ten within the next five years.
Generics are manufactured and priced cheaper once the patent for a branded drug has expired, mainly in developing markets.
On Friday CVC bought the German theatre production company Stage.