HELSINKI: EQT IX, through Roar BidCo AB2, announced a public offer to the shareholders and holders of the Senior Unsecured Convertible Bonds issued by Recipharm AB to tender all their shares and Convertible Bonds to Roar BidCo at a price of SEK 220 in cash per share and SEK 1,427,010 in cash per SEK 1,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of Convertible Bonds.
The total value of the offer amounts to approximately SEK 17.929 billion.
The class B shares in Recipharm are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Mid Cap. The Convertible Bonds are admitted to trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Open Market (Freiverkehr).
Roar BidCo has secured ownership of approximately 25.7 per cent of the shares and 74.3 per cent of the votes in Recipharm through Lars Backsell, the chairman of the board of Recipharm, and Thomas Eldered, the CEO and a member of the board of Recipharm, who are indirect shareholders of Recipharm and are participating with EQT IX in the Offer.
Lars Backsell, the chairman of the board of directors of Recipharm, and Thomas Eldered, member of the board of directors and the CEO of Recipharm, who are indirect shareholders of Recipharm, are participating with EQT IX in the Offer and have undertaken to contribute all of their shares in Recipharm to Roar BidCo in connection with completion of the Offer, entailing that Roar BidCo controls 21,312,000 shares of class A and 4,629,410 shares of class B, corresponding to 25.7 per cent of all outstanding shares and 74.3 per cent of the votes in Recipharm.
Erika Henriksson, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT IX, said: “Recipharm has generated strong growth over the past years through a number of acquisitions, and today holds a strong position in the global CDMO market. EQT wants to support Recipharm’s continued development, which will require significant and long-term investments. We value Recipharm’s management team and employees highly, and look forward to partnering with Lars Backsell and Thomas Eldered.
“We share many of the founders’ values, including the importance of an entrepreneurial approach and a clear sustainability focus. As a very active investor in the global healthcare sector, EQT is well positioned to support Recipharm to futureproof its operations and accelerate its growth. We are convinced that we can add significant value, both in terms of expertise and capital.”
Lars Backsell, the chairman of the board of directors of Recipharm, and Thomas Eldered, member of the board of directors and the CEO of Recipharm, said: “In EQT we have found a partner who shares our values as entrepreneurs and our vision for Recipharm. EQT has also an impressive track record of sustainable value creation and growth. We are convinced that EQT’s experience in developing companies will allow us to build an even stronger company faster in an industry in rapid change. We have chosen our partner carefully and are now committed to EQT.
“We are convinced they are best placed to provide the necessary support and to lead Recipharm during the next phase in developing the Company. We will not accept any competing offers and will not participate in any other consortium; we want to do this together with EQT.”
Recipharm is a leading global CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation) that offers manufacturing and development services to companies in the pharmaceutical industry.
Recipharm was founded in 1995 through a management buyout of a solid dose facility located in Årsta outside of Stockholm as well as a portfolio of pharmaceutical products.
Lars Backsell and Thomas Eldered that were both employees of the selling company, Pharmacia AB, were able to secure the continued employment for all employees at the facility following the buyout. At the time, the Company generated revenues of SEK 220 million, of which contract manufacturing accounted for SEK 180 million.
In 2007, Recipharm divested the rights to the pharmaceutical products in order to fully dedicate the Company to grow the manufacturing and development services business via new contracts and through acquisitions. Recipharm is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm since 2014.
Over the past 25 years, Recipharm has grown organically and via several strategic acquisitions and has developed into one of the top five CDMOs on a global basis. The pharmaceutical industry is continuously evolving and CDMOs need to adapt accordingly, by making investments in new technologies and developing better service offerings to support their customers. The consolidation trend is expected to continue as a result of customer needs and Recipharm will have to accelerate its in-organic growth agenda to stay ahead of competition.
EQT7 has been following Recipharm’s progress with considerable interest and is impressed with the performance of the business as well as with Recipharm’s leadership and its employees as to what they have achieved.
In light of the underlying market dynamics demanding for new investments to meet customer needs in an environment with increased competition and to drive the ongoing consolidation in the sector, both EQT as well as Lars Backsell and Thomas Eldered are convinced that Recipharm would benefit from operating as a private company in the years ahead.
Roar BidCo would support Recipharm in its development of its current business and on its continued growth journey, both organically and through acquisitions. In a private setting supported by EQT, Recipharm would have access to the capital needed to make transformational investments and accelerate its inorganic growth agenda.
Roar BidCo is also convinced that EQT can contribute by offering access to its extensive industry network in the healthcare sector, attracting additional talent to Recipharm, driving increased digitalisation and further developing the Company’s vision of being a sustainability industry champion.
Goldman Sachs International is acting as sole financial advisor and Roschier Advokatbyrå AB is legal advisor to Roar BidCo and EQT IX in connection with the Offer. Setterwalls Advokatbyrå AB is legal advisor to Lars Backsell and Thomas Eldered in connection with the Offer.
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