Polpharma, the largest drug manufacturer in Poland, is working on a takeover bid for Czech rival Zentiva. This was reported by Reuters. The purchase price is around four billion dollars (85.4 billion crowns).
According to sources, Polpharma is now looking for investors who would join its offer in exchange for a minority stake in the American company Advent International. She owns Zentiva.
Negotiations between the Polish company and potential partners are at an early stage. Polpharma has yet to decide how to structure the joint offer, sources said.
Polpharma’s move comes after Advent rejected banks’ proposals for Zentiva’s primary public offering last year because interest in the subscription waned in the second half of last year, Reuters sources wrote.
Polpharma needs a private investment company to help finance the offer. The offer would cost Zentiva three to 3.5 billion euros, which is up to four billion dollars. According to sources, the Polish company hired the American investment bank JPMorgan to select potential investors.
The Boston private investment company Advent bought Zentiva in 2018. The company produces about 500 types of drugs, mainly generic. These are products that contain the same active ingredient as the original new drugs. After the end of patent protection of the original preparations, generic drugs can be produced elsewhere and their market price usually decreases significantly. Zentiva’s medicines are sold in more than 40 countries. According to its website, the company has production plants in the Czech Republic, Romania and India.
According to a study by BCC Research, the volume of the generics market will increase from $ 411.6 billion in 2020 to $ 650.3 billion by 2025. This means that the compound annual growth rate should reach 9.6 percent.
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