Advent strikes €4.1bn deal to sell generic drugmaker Zentiva to GTCR
Sale is second private equity-backed healthcare transaction within weeks in Europe
Chicago-based private equity group GTCR has struck a €4.1bn deal to buy generic drugmaker Zentiva from Advent International, in Europe’s second big private equity-backed generics deal this year.
The takeover, which follows a competitive bidding process, comes a week after CapVest acquired a majority stake in rival generic drugmaker Stada, valuing the business at €10bn.
The deal to buy the Prague-based company, which was the generic drug unit of French pharmaceutical company Sanofi before being carved out in 2018, has been signed and is set to be announced in the coming days, said two people familiar with the matter.
Zentiva is valued at €4.1bn including debt, the people said. The sale will mark a profitable exit for Advent, which bought the former Sanofi unit for €1.9bn seven years ago. The company traces its origins to a centuries-old pharmacy in Prague and operates in 35 countries across Europe.
GTCR was previously in talks to buy Stada, according to separate people familiar with the matter. GTCR, which has $46.7bn of assets under management, has invested heavily in healthcare companies.
Advent declined to comment. GTCR did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The company has supplied over-the-counter medicines, such as paracetamol and co-codamol, to more than 100mn patients across Europe, with a target to reach one in five Europeans by the end of the decade.
There were $198bn in healthcare deals globally until the end of August, up 2 per cent on the same period last year, according to LSEG Intelligence data, with private equity striking a series of deals to buy generic drugmakers, contract drug manufacturers and other life sciences companies.