BOSTON and NEW YORK, Nov. 7,
2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Advent International and Avista Capital
Partners today announced that they have signed an agreement to
acquire Kremers Urban Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("KU"), the U.S.
specialty generic pharmaceuticals subsidiary of global
biopharmaceuticals company UCB, S.A. (Euronext: UCB), for
$1.525 billion. The
transaction, subject to regulatory approval and other customary
closing conditions, is expected to close by the first quarter of
2015.
Over the past seven years, KU has diversified and grown its
product portfolio from one major product to more than 20 marketed
products across a number of indications, including gastroesophageal
reflux disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,
angina/hypertension and respiratory disease. KU has
established itself as a leading participant in the generic
pharmaceuticals sector by focusing on high barrier to entry drugs
with characteristics such as extended release formulas, unusual
dosage forms such as patches, liquids and injectables and scheduled
substances.
As part of the transaction, Brian
Markison, currently a healthcare Industry Executive at
Avista, will become President and Chief Executive Officer of KU,
succeeding George Stevenson, who is
pursuing other interests. Mr. Markison has more than 30 years
of experience in the pharmaceuticals sector, most recently as
President and Chief Executive Officer of Fougera Pharmaceuticals, a
dermatology-focused specialty pharmaceuticals company that was spun
off from Nycomed A/S in 2011 and sold to Sandoz, the generics
division of Novartis, in July 2012. Before leading Fougera,
Mr. Markison was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of King
Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining King, Mr. Markison held
various senior leadership positions at Bristol-Myers
Squibb.
"KU is a strong, specialty player in a rapidly growing and
changing global generics industry, and we believe it will thrive as
an independent entity as the adoption of generics continues to rise
worldwide," said John Maldonado, a
Managing Director at Advent International. "We are excited to
partner with Avista and the KU leadership team to position the
company for continued long-term growth."
"The KU team has a long track record of success, and we are
excited to be a part of its bright future as an independent
company," said Sriram Venkataraman,
a Partner at Avista. "We are delighted to continue working with
Brian Markison as well as the Advent
team to drive growth at KU both organically and through additional
acquisitions."
"KU is an important player in a dynamic sector with numerous
growth opportunities," said Mr. Markison. "I'm looking
forward to leading the KU team and, in partnership with Advent and
Avista, driving enhancements throughout the organization to ensure
KU meets its strategic objectives as an independent company."
"We believe Advent and Avista are best positioned to drive
Kremers Urban's growth to the next stage in the specialty generic
market," said Dr. Roch Doliveux,
Chief Executive Officer of UCB. "UCB's growing core business
and rapidly progressing early and late stage pipeline now allows us
to focus even more on innovative solutions in neurology and
immunology."
Advent and Avista both have extensive investment experience in
the healthcare sector. Advent has invested in more than 30
healthcare companies worldwide over the past 25 years, with
pharmaceuticals as a key sub-sector focus. The acquisition of
KU will be the firm's fourth pharmaceutical investment in the past
three years following the purchase of three specialty
pharmaceutical companies: Biotoscana in Colombia, Laboratorio LKM in Argentina and United Medical (acquired by
Biotoscana) in Brazil. The
professionals at Avista have substantial healthcare expertise. The
firm has acquired or invested in 24 companies across the healthcare
industry, with several notable transactions in the pharmaceutical
sector, including Acino Pharma, Fougera Pharmaceuticals, Lantheus
Medical Imaging, Nycomed and Vertical / Trigen.
Operating Partner Jean-Pierre Garnier and Industry Advisor Dr.
Bernhard Hampl were instrumental in
helping Advent evaluate the acquisition of KU. Mr. Garnier
previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Pierre Fabre S.A. and as the Chief Executive
Officer and an Executive Member of the Board of Directors of
GlaxoSmithKline. Dr. Hampl previously served as the Chief
Executive Officer of Eon Labs and as the Chief Executive Officer of
Sandoz US.
Financing for the transaction is being provided by Credit Suisse
Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Goldman, Sachs &
Co and Jefferies LLC. Weil, Gotshal & Manges is serving as
legal advisor to Advent and Avista. Jefferies LLC, Credit
Suisse Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman,
Sachs & Co are serving as financial advisors to Advent and
Avista.
About Advent International
Founded in 1984,
Advent International is one of the largest and most experienced
global private equity investors. Since inception, the firm
has invested in more than 290 companies in 39 countries and today
has $34 billion in assets under
management. With offices on four continents, Advent has
established a globally integrated team of over 170 investment
professionals across North
America, Europe,
Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on investments
across five core sectors, including business and financial
services; healthcare; industrial; retail, consumer and
leisure; and technology, media and telecom. After 30
years dedicated to international investing, Advent remains
committed to partnering with management teams to deliver sustained
revenue and earnings growth for its portfolio companies. For
more information, visit www.adventinternational.com.
About Avista Capital Partners
Avista Capital
Partners is a leading private equity firm with approximately
$6 billion under management and
offices in New York, Houston and London. Founded in 2005,
Avista makes controlling or influential minority investments in
growth-oriented energy, healthcare, communications & media,
industrials, and consumer businesses. Through its team of
seasoned investment professionals and industry experts, Avista
seeks to partner with exceptional management teams to invest in and
add value to well-positioned businesses. For more information on
Avista please visit www.avistacap.com.
About Kremers Urban Pharmaceuticals Inc. (KU)
KU is
the generic subsidiary of UCB in the Unites States. It is a
specialty generic pharmaceutical company focused on difficult,
"high barrier" to entry generic products. To learn more visit
www.kremersurban.com.
About UCB
UCB, Brussels, Belgium (www.ucb.com) is a global
biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development
of innovative medicines and solutions to transform the lives of
people living with severe diseases of the immune system or of the
central nervous system. With more than 8500 people in
approximately 40 countries, the company generated revenue of € 3.4
billion in 2013. UCB is listed on Euronext Brussels (symbol:
UCB). For more information, visit www.ucb.com. Follow
us on Twitter: @UCB_news
SOURCE Advent International
