Buyout group EQT on Monday announced a cash offer for Swedish contract pharmaceutical maker Recipharm, valuing the company at 23.6 billion Swedish crowns ($2.80 billion).
Recipharm, a contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) for the pharma industry, recently signed a preliminary deal with Moderna Inc to fill and seal the packaging for the U.S drugmaker’s new COVID-19 vaccine.
EQT said it was bidding 220 crowns per Recipharm share, a 22.9% premium to Recipharm’s closing price on Friday.
“Recipharm has generated strong growth over the past years through a number of acquisitions, and today holds a strong position in the global CDMO market,” Erika Henriksson, a partner at EQT, said in a statement.
“EQT wants to support Recipharm’s continued development, which will require significant and long-term investments.”
EQT said it had secured ownership of around 25.7% of Recipharm shares and 74.3% of the votes, with the backing of Recipharm founders Lars Backsell and Thomas Eldered.
“We have chosen our partner carefully and are now committed to EQT,” Recipharm Chairman Backsell and Chief Executive Officer Eldered said in a joint statement.
“We will not accept any competing offers and will not participate in any other consortium; we want to do this together with EQT.”
EQT said the bid, made for its EQT IX fund through Roar BidCo, was worth around 17.9 billion crowns for the shares and convertible bonds it did not control.
Recipharm’s independent board said it would now “thoroughly evaluate the offer and present its opinion to the shareholders in due course.”
Source: Reuters.com