European private equity firm Cinven has acquired the Amdipharm Group, the family-owned international niche pharmaceuticals business, for a total consideration of GBP367m.
Amdipharm will operate initially as a standalone business but, over time, Cinven will look to merge Amdipharm with its existing portfolio company, Mercury Pharma, which it acquired in September 2012.
Mercury and Amdipharm each market mature, niche pharmaceuticals, both branded and unbranded. The businesses are highly complementary as Mercury’s customer base is largely UK focused, whereas Amdipharm has a significantly greater international business, with its products sold in over 80 countries worldwide.
Amdipharm was founded by Vijay and Bhikhu Patel. The group, which has grown strongly through acquisition, today generates revenues of over GBP110m. The founders will retain a significant minority stake in the combined business.
Supraj Rajagopalan, partner at Cinven, says: “Our acquisition of Amdipharm is completely transformational. It not only doubles the size of the combined group in terms of revenue and profitability but, importantly, creates a truly global business. This investment is another example of our ability to source proprietary opportunities through our dedicated sector expertise.”
John Beighton, chief executive of Mercury Pharma, says: “Mercury and Amdipharm are a perfect combination. The businesses are highly complementary across core product areas and geographical markets and the combined group already has significant scale operating across global markets with further opportunities for growth.”
