Nordic Capital and Permira’s planned take-private of Danish vaccine specialist Bavarian Nordic A/S has hit a significant hurdle as the company’s largest shareholder pushes back against the consortium’s NOK19bn ($3bn) cash bid, casting uncertainty over the deal’s completion, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Bavarian Nordic shares traded above the offer price of NOK233, reaching NOK239 during early trading in Copenhagen – signalling investor reluctance to accept the proposed valuation. The offer, representing a 21% premium to last week’s closing price, requires support from over 90% of shareholders to proceed.
Denmark’s largest pension fund, ATP, which holds a stake exceeding 10%, publicly questioned the fairness of the price, citing the company’s promising growth prospects and pipeline potential.
Meanwhile, Bavarian Nordic’s board remains supportive, describing the bid as an attractive proposal secured after intense negotiations.
The deal is positioned to enable Bavarian Nordic to accelerate its expansion strategy, including diversification of its vaccine portfolio through strategic partnerships and acquisitions, the company noted in a Monday statement.
Bavarian Nordic specialises in travel vaccines and collaborates closely with government entities on the distribution of mpox and smallpox vaccines. The firm also recently commercialised one of the first chikungunya vaccines, targeting the mosquito-borne viral disease.
The acquisition talks, first reported by Bloomberg last week, are expected to conclude in Q4 2025.
Market sentiment towards vaccines remains cautious amid the uncertain US healthcare landscape, where US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s skeptical stance on immunisations has unsettled some investors.
Additionally, revised US public health guidelines have reduced the emphasis on Covid-19 vaccinations for children and pregnant women, weighing on vaccine market forecasts.
Equity analyst Romy O’Connor of Van Lanschot Kempen described the offer as fairly priced considering the uncertain US market conditions and Bavarian Nordic’s dependency on contract-based public preparedness programmes.
In contrast to the vaccine sector’s volatility, European private equity investors continue to pursue public-to-private transactions amid perceived valuation discounts. Recent highlights include KKR’s £4.1bn ($5.6bn) cash bid for UK-listed precision testing equipment maker Spectris, marking one of the largest takeovers in the region this year.
Notably, pharmaceutical giant Sanofi last week agreed to acquire UK biotech Vicebio for up to $1.6bn, securing experimental vaccine assets and technology to accelerate development pipelines.
