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| Robert Wessman |
In the latest bit of pharma M&A, a group of investment funds teamed up to buy generics maker Alvogen. A consortium led by CVC Capital Partners snapped up a majority stake in the NJ-based company, in a deal valuing Alvogen at $2 billion.
Founded by former Actavis chief Robert Wessman in 2009, Alvogen operates in 35 countries though regional hubs in North America, eastern Europe and Asia, the Financial Times reports, though North America is its largest market. Wessman will retain a minority interest in the company through his Aztiq Pharma vehicle and will stick around as CEO.
"Alvogen has established itself as one of the fastest growing generic pharmaceutical companies in the industry, delivering double digit revenue and profit growth annually since 2009," Wessman said in a statement. "The group has transformed from being a domestic U.S. business to a global player,"
In the generics world, Alvogen remains a smallish player; leader Teva Pharmaceutical ($TEVA) ranks among pharma's top 15 companies by revenue, for instance, with $20 billion in revenue, and it's trying to buy fellow generics giant Mylan ($MYL). And consolidation deals are common: India-based Strides recently agreed to buy a slate of Aspen generics, for instance. In a couple of bigger transactions, Sun Pharmaceutical recently closed on its $4 billion deal for fellow Indian drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories, and Mylan itself did a $5.4 billion deal for a big portfolio of Abbott Laboratories' ($ABT) meds.
Alvogen has 350 marketed products and another 200 projects coming down the pike, and Wessman says it's aiming to be "one of the leading generics players in the world today." With the CVC-led deal, Alvogen gets access to "significant experience and additional resources" to step up its growth, Wessman said. The buyout group includes the Singapore investment company Temasek and Vatera Healthcare Partners.
- check out the Alvogen release
- see the FT piece
Special Reports: Pharma's top 10 M&A deals of 2014 - Mylan/Abbott - Sun/Ranbaxy | Top 15 pharma companies by 2014 revenue - Teva | Top 10 generics makers by 2012 revenue