Mercury Pharma acquisition by Cinven
Cinven, the European private equity firm, reached agreement today (17 August 2012) to acquire Mercury Pharma from HgCapital.
Mercury Pharma is an international speciality pharmaceutical company which markets niche and branded pharmaceuticals and provides value to payors and patients alike. It has a strong focus on the UK although its products are sold globally in more than 50 countries.
Mercury has a broad portfolio of well-established products including treatments for thyroid disorders, pain, arthritis, pulmonary arterial hypertension and cardiovascular diseases, as well as a number of anaesthesia products.
Headquartered in Croydon, UK, Mercury has operational bases in the UK, Ireland and India. It has generated strong revenue growth in recent years. It has a highly experienced management team, led by John Beighton, Group Chief Executive, who joined Mercury in 2010. John was previously UK Managing Director of Teva and formerly at SmithKline Beecham.
Commenting on this transaction, Supraj Rajagopalan, a Partner at Cinven, said:
"We identified niche and branded pharmaceuticals as an attractive segment and, within that, Mercury as a strongly performing business. In addition to its excellent existing product portfolio and pipeline - both of which should drive strong organic growth - it is a fantastic platform for further consolidation both in the UK and internationally. Our in-depth knowledge of this sector, given our long-term focus on healthcare, has enabled us to identify a number of compelling acquisition opportunities which we hope to execute in the early stages of our investment."
"Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, there will continue to be demand for the essential medicines provided by Mercury. In a number of areas, Mercury is actually able to work with payors to reduce costs to the healthcare system. We are delighted to be working with John and his team to implement our shared vision for the Company."
"Our investment in Mercury demonstrates our focus on acquiring European-based companies with significant international growth prospects, as well as our ability to originate investments through our strong sector focus."
John Beighton, CEO of Mercury Pharma, added:
"In the past two years, the Mercury business has been streamlined to refocus on its core speciality pharmaceutical products. We have a well-diversified product range and are investing in creating a pipeline of further specialist medicines. Our 15 new products launched in 2011/12 are already starting to show earnings momentum and we have a strong product pipeline. Despite the current economic environment, our products and company are extremely well positioned."
"We are delighted to be partnering with Cinven who, with their experience in both healthcare and 'buy and build' strategies, will provide invaluable expertise and investment as we enter this next phase of growth."