India’s Piramal Enterprises’ U.S. subsidiary will buy out a 100% stake in CDMO Ash Stevens for a deal worth over $50 million.
Piramal has sought out the Michigan-based company predominately for its API capabilities, which sees the CDMO currently boast 60,000 sq. ft. of facilities, 8 chemical drug development and production laboratories, and 6 full-scale production areas.
The all-cash deal comes in at $42.95 million, plus an earn-out consideration capped at $10 million. Final signatures and clearance for the buyout are expected by the end of the month.
Ash Stevens has been around for more than half a century working as a contract manufacturer with biotech, mid-size pharma and large pharma clients.
Vivek Sharma, CEO of Piramal Pharma Solutions, said: “The acquisition of Ash Stevens fits well with our strategy to build an asset platform that offers value to our partners and collaborators. Currently, around 25% of the molecules in clinical development are potent. Our clients are looking for reliable partners that can assist them in advancing these programs forward.
“North America is a key market that we can now service with our three local facilities--the Coldstream Labs in Kentucky for fill finish needs, the Torcan facility in Toronto for complex high value APIs and now, Ash Stevens in Michigan for HPAPIs. Having facilities with a differentiated platform and geographical proximity to clients are keys towards building strategic partnerships.
“We expect this acquisition to also be synergistic with our Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) and injectable business.”
Dr. Stephen Munk, CEO of Ash Stevens, added: “We look forward to working with the Piramal leadership and management team, to develop API solutions that benefit customers and improve the lives of patients. The commitment that Piramal has shown towards growing its healthcare businesses, coupled with the complementary capabilities that our two firms have, makes this an exciting time for Ash Stevens and our employees. We have already identified areas where we can create significant value together, and will be moving forward rapidly to achieve those objectives.”
This is part of Piramal’s broader strategic diversification plan that sees its fingers in many pies, including industries such as healthcare, financial services, healthcare information management, glass packaging and real estate. It is likely best known in life sciences as the owner of healthcare market research org Decision Resources Group.
- check out the release
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