Fresenius: acquisition of Akorn and Merck KGaA's biosimilars
(CercleFinance.com) - German healthcare group Fresenius yesterday announced the acquisition of US-based pharmaceutical company Akorn and Merck KGaA's biosimilars business.
Fresenius Kabi has agreed to acquire Akorn, which produces injectable, ophthalmic, oral, topical, nasal/inhaled and otic medicines for a purchase price equivalent to 4.3 billion dollars, plus approximately 450 million dollars of net debt.
Fresenius Kabi also will acquire Merck Group's biosimilars business, which includes the entire development pipeline focused on oncology and autoimmune diseases.
The purchase price will be up to 670 million euros.
"We see both transaction as positive for the group, reinforcing the Kabi business in the US at a time was management was increasingly cautious on the sustainability of margins," Bryan Garnier commented.
For the record, the brokerage firm has a "buy" rating on Fresenius with a "fair value" of 82 euros (+9%).
The stock is currently up 0.2 percent at 75.2 euros in Frankfurt.
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