CVC Capital Partners Buys Controlling Stake in Recordati for $3.5 Billion

Rare Daily Staff

A consortium of funds led by CVC Capital Partners has agreed to buy a majority interest in drugmaker Recordati for $3.5 billion (€3 billion) with an eye toward growing its rare disease business.

The transaction is structured as a fully financed acquisition by the consortium of the family’s holding company FIMEI for a value of $3.5 billion (€3 billion). FIMEI owns 51.8 percent of Recordati, implying a 100 percent equity value for Recordati of $6.8 billion (€5.9 billion) or $32.54 (€28.00) per share.

The Consortium led by CVC Fund VII includes PSP Investments and StepStone. Andrea Recordati, CEO of the company, invested alongside the consortium and will remain as CEO.
Recordati, established in 1926, is an international pharmaceutical group, listed on the Italian stock market with a total staff of around 4,000. The family that owns the firm has been considering sale alternatives since 2016 when then chairman and CEO Giovanni Recordati died.

“I believe that this is a great outcome for the company and its employees who will benefit greatly from having CVC as a partner,” said Andrea Recordati. “In the process of finding the best partner to take Recordati forward, it was important to find a party that would allow Recordati to remain independent, with continuity for management and employees, and accelerate its growth strategy as a leading global consolidator in the pharmaceutical industry.”

Closing of the FIMEI purchase is anticipated to take place in the last quarter of 2018 and is subject to mandatory competition approvals. The consortium’s current expectation is that Recordati will remain a publicly listed company. The Consortium has agreed to provide other shareholders with a full cash offer at $32.54 (€28.00) per share.

“Recordati has always been a very carefully managed, international pharma company with a broad platform of products and a strong geographical footprint in primary care,” said Cathrin Petty, head of EMEA Healthcare at CVC. “Over the last decade Recordati has built up a very attractive rare disease business which we look forward to expanding in addition to the core business. We hope that through our expertise and global healthcare network we will help accelerate this growth across orphan and specialty care to build a global leader in the industry.”