UPSA sees Taisho Pharmaceuticals among final bidders
Five parties including listed Japanese pharma group Taisho Pharmaceuticals [TYO: 4581] have been selected for the final round of the auction for UPSA, the French over-the-counter operations of New York-based pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb [NYSE:BMY], French daily Le Figaro reported.
The report cited several sources as saying that the final round of the auction includes two private equity houses, PAI Partners and CVC Capital Partners, and three corporate bidders, listed German drugmaker Stada [ETR:SAZ], the Italian privately-owned wellness specialist Angelini and Taisho.
According to the report, Stada has been rumoured as a favourite but competitors claim that the German group could look for synergies, impacting the employees of the France-based production sites. People in favour of Stada replied that some of the German group’s plants, in particular those located in Serbia, have reached the saturation point, and the group could therefore transfer the manufacturing of its products in France. One source familiar with the matter said that Stada would maintain the entirety of the workforce of UPSA.
The report noted that Angelini is the leader of the paracetamol market in Italy. While a combination with UPSA would reinforce the Italian group in this sector, some of its activities could be directly in competition with those of UPSA’s in some markets, the report added.
According to the report, the deadline for submitting binding offers expires on Friday this week, and BMS could select a preferred bidder to enter into exclusive talks with before the end of the month. UPSA could be worth more than EUR 1bn, the report said.