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STADA / CAPVEST — M&A Hunt: Three Actionable Target Scenarios Morning Note | Consumer Health | 18 March 2026

STADA this morning reported record 2025 results — €4.3bn in sales (+6%) and €961m adjusted cc EBITDA (+8%), with CEO Peter Goldschmidt signalling the firm has "absolutely enough firepower" for meaningful consumer health acquisitions. Context matters here: CapVest Partners agreed in September 2025 to buy control of STADA from Bain Capital and Cinven in a deal valuing the business at roughly €10bn including debt, with the transaction expected to close in early 2026. This is the first major strategic signal from the new ownership — a buyout-backed platform actively hunting, with a freshly closed deal and institutional PE capital to deploy.

STADA's M&A track record is well-established. Under Bain/Cinven, STADA executed more than 25 targeted acquisitions including Johnson & Johnson's Nizoral brand, Walmark, a GSK consumer healthcare portfolio, and a Sanofi European consumer healthcare portfolio. CapVest has explicitly stated it intends to use M&A to transform the scale of its portfolio companies. The machine is warmed up. The question is: what's next?

Perrigo is arguably the most logical large-scale target for STADA. Perrigo describes itself as a leading pure-play self-care company with over a century of OTC experience, focused on consumers primarily in North America and Europe. Its European branded portfolio — Compeed (blister care), EllaOne (emergency contraception), Mederma (scar treatment), Jungle Formula (insect repellent) — overlaps neatly with STADA's existing categories and distribution infrastructure. These are exactly the kind of "local hero brands" STADA prizes.

Perrigo is in active restructuring mode, creating a motivated seller dynamic. In November 2025, Perrigo initiated a strategic review of its infant formula business, which generates approximately $360m in net sales and represents less than 10% of annual revenues. The company has been systematically shedding non-core assets: in July 2025, Perrigo announced the divestiture of its dermacosmetics business for up to €327m, with the transaction expected to close in Q1 2026. What's left after these disposals is a cleaner, more focused European/North American OTC platform — precisely what STADA would want.

Perrigo's FY2026 CORE adjusted EPS outlook is $2.25–$2.55, with CORE organic net sales guiding -3.5% to +0.5%. The stock has been under pressure. At current levels, the EV represents a compressed multiple for a pure-play OTC asset — M&A optionality is arguably not priced in. Main risks: execution drag from ongoing restructuring, US private-label manufacturing complexity, and leverage (net debt roughly 3.6x EBITDA) which would need careful structuring in any deal.

Bottom line on PRGO: Best risk/reward as a tactical long with M&A optionality. STADA buying the European branded segment in a carve-out (rather than the whole company) is the most realistic scenario.

Haleon generates roughly 60% of sales from global power brands including Sensodyne, Advil, Centrum, and Poligrip, with trailing twelve-month revenues of $14.5bn. At £49bn market cap, Haleon as a whole is far beyond STADA's reach. But that's not the trade.

The playbook here is brand carve-outs. Procter & Gamble, Reckitt, Coty, and others are divesting smaller local brands, niche or entire categories, and legacy formats that no longer fit their strategic priorities. Haleon has a tail of local/regional brands — Tums, Caltrate, Emergen-C — that are non-core to its global power brand strategy. STADA has already demonstrated it can execute exactly this type of transaction: the Sanofi European consumer health brand acquisition in 2023 followed the same template of a large pharma pruning non-priority brands.

Any Haleon strategic review announcement, portfolio simplification press release, or analyst day commentary pointing to category exits in 2026–2027. This is a 12–24 month idea, not an immediate event-driven trade.

Sanofi announced in 2023 its intention to separate its consumer healthcare division via the creation of a standalone company, Opella, and in 2024 confirmed negotiations with a US private equity firm to transfer a 50% controlling stake. Opella's portfolio includes major European OTC brands: Dulcolax, Allegra, Niquitin, Doliprane. Revenue is estimated in the €3–4bn range — larger than what STADA would likely absorb whole, but specific geographic carve-outs (e.g. Central/Eastern Europe distribution rights) or a co-investment structure with CapVest alongside the PE firm are plausible.

This is the most speculative of the three scenarios. Opella's ownership structure post PE-deal is complex and regulatory scrutiny on any further transaction would be significant. Flag as a monitoring situation rather than an actionable trade.

The broader consumer health M&A wave provides the perfect hunting ground for STADA. Kimberly-Clark's $48.7bn acquisition of Kenvue aims to create a global health and wellness leader, while CapVest's own investment in STADA and the Alliance Pharma take-private reflect strong PE conviction in the sector's stable demand and margin potential. Large pharma is shedding OTC assets; PE-backed platforms like STADA are the natural acquirers. The window is open.

Key monitoring signals: Any Perrigo strategic review outcome; Haleon portfolio simplification commentary; CapVest capital deployment announcements; STADA press releases on "major" transaction.

Laurent Chekroun | Makor Capital Markets | 18 March 2026For professional investors only. Not investment advice.