Italy’s Recordati has long been weighing a sale, and things may now be getting serious.
Private equity player CVC Capital Partners is in advanced talks to pick up a controlling stake—worth more than €3 billion—of the company from the billionaire Recordati family, the Financial Times reported.
The two parties could work out an agreement before the end of the month, the Times’ sources said, but a couple key factors could stand in the way. For one, a lack of cooperation between different parts of the Recordati dynasty could scuttle or stall talks, they said.
Political uncertainty in Italy could also throw up a hurdle; CVC earlier considered backing away on account of the turmoil, but the formation of a coalition government earlier this month has kept it in the game.
Recordati, the rare-disease drugmaker behind ultra-pricey hyperammonemia treatment Carbaglu, began considering sale options after the 2016 death of CEO Giovanni Recordati, the FT notes. That same year, members of the family held informal discussions with Asian bidders, and Bain and Cinven—the private equity partners that last year joined hands to nab German generics maker Stada—have reportedly eyed the pharma company too.
Last year, though, Recordati played the role of buyer instead of seller, forking over $300 million to frequent divester AstraZeneca for European rights to heart drug Seloken and related combo product Logimax.
Meanwhile, the business would fold right into CVC’s portfolio, which already includes Italian generics player DOC Generici. It also still includes knockoffs maker Alvogen, despite reports from late last year that CVC and its private equity partners were considering a $4 billion sale of the company to Shanghai Pharma.
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