LaborMed drug maker, owned by Advent International investment fund, acquired Ozone's 400-product portfolio and its brand in a deal revolving around 24m euros according to ZF sources. The payment will be made over a longer period of time, until the moment Advent exits the business.
"Looking at LaborMed's portfolio, we had prescription products in areas such as cardiovascular and central nervous system. To have a more balanced business, we needed to add to our portfolio the areas we were not present in and that are not highly regulated as regards prices, namely OTC drugs," says Stephen Stead, CEO of LaborMed.
In the wake of the acquisition, LaborMed will see its sales double from the 35m-euro level reported in 2008. Ozone operates in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Hungary and turnover totalled 77m euros in 2008, with Romania generating 46% of it.
Ozone's shareholders are businessmen Ludovic Robert, Michel Eid, Roger Akoury and Walid Abboud, also controlling the majority stake in A&D Pharma, the biggest pharmaceutical group domestically. "A lot was invested and the money was recouped. It was a neutral business for shareholders," says a person close to shareholders.
The Ozone deal will secure LaborMed a top ten position in the industry and a market share of around 3%.
The sale process, started 18 months ago, included several stages both as regards the interested companies and the price. Originally, the four Ozone shareholders' expectations pointed to the sum of 100m euros, the level of sales scheduled for the following years, but this happened before the crisis. Amid the crisis, shareholders had to agree with smaller sums and also change the structure, from a sale of the company to a sale of brands.
Ozone was the last medium-sized pharmaceutical firm that could be taken over. The buyer, LaborMed, is at its first deal in Romania. Though the Ozone deal has been just sealed, Stead says he is mulling another product acquisition from "another organisation of Romania".
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