Mega Pharma owners have hired Jefferies to explore alternatives to the fourth-largest pharmaceutical group in Latin America, which may include debt issuance and an initial IPO, two people familiar with the matter said.
According to these sources, Mega Pharma would first issue debt earlier this year. Accessing the global debt markets would accelerate a plan by the German family Struengmann for a future listing of the company on the stock exchange.
Mega Pharma, based in the Uruguayan city of Canelones, is controlled by twin brothers Andreas and Thomas Struengmann - also founders of generic drug maker Hexal, which was sold to Novartis 12 years ago.
The idea of the partners is that Mega Pharma, which has $ 1 billion in annual revenue and ten plants that produce for all of Latin America, lists stocks in the United States or Colombia, Brazil or Argentina.
Jefferies, the Struengmanns, and Mega Pharma did not immediately comment. People spoke on condition of anonymity.
The search for investor resources shows how the pharmaceutical sector could gain traction in a region where demand for medicines has increased in recent years. Biotechnology investors around the world are spending more than ever to try to turn businesses into specialty pharmaceutical companies.
In 12 months (through June 22), there were 21 pharmaceutical mergers and acquisitions in Latin America, compared with only five in the same period a decade ago, according to Thomson Reuters.
Based on the value of recent pharmaceutical deals in Latin America, Mega Pharma may be worth about $ 2.5 billion, private equity professionals told Reuters. Mega Pharma's focus on brand-name drugs has protected it from the heavy competition of generic drugs, a segment whose return has declined in recent years, bank professionals said.
Struengmann joined Mega Pharma when Argentina's Laboratorios Roemmers grouped local assets with others in Uruguay, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Venezuela.
The group has slices at German biotech companies Glycotope, Ganómetro and BioNTech, and recently joined investors to buy a Siemens hearing aid manufacturer.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário