There must be something up in Germany, because another drugmaker there is on the market.
Privately owned Riemser Arzneimittel AG, one of the largest pharma firms in eastern Germany, is in talks with a "selected group" of private equity firms and strategic investors, CEO Michael Mehler tells Bloomberg. Sources tell the publication that Warburg Pincus, Montagu Private Equity and Triton Advisers U.K. are among those sizing it up. They also suggest the price tag is about €300 million euros ($379 million).
The company is owned by the Braun family, GE Healthcare Financial Services ($GE) and TVM Capital, and it has about €115 million in revenues a year, selling oncology and dermatology products, among others, Bloomberg says.
One has to wonder if the news leaked out because the owners of another German drugmaker, Aenova, just announced they were shopping that company. It is owned by private equity firm Bridgepoint, which indicated it has a price tag in the same general range, more than €400 million, or about $510 million, Reuters reports. Aenova is the agglomeration of Swiss Caps, which made capsule-based supplements and drugs, and Dragenopharm, a German contract manufacturer of prescription drugs. Bridgepoint put the two together in 2008. Now, it has 9 locations in Switzerland, Germany, France, Romania and the U.S., and it employs about 1,600.
Bloomberg also pointed out earlier this week that Sweden's Meda AB, which last year got a look by Canada's Valeant Pharmaceuticals ($VRX), also looks to be a good buyout candidate.
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