Sun European Partners, LLP (“Sun European Partners” or “Sun”) today announces that one of its affiliates has signed a definitive agreement to sell NextPharma (or “the company”), a leading pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), to Funds advised by CapVest Partners LLP (“CapVest”). The proposed transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
NextPharma is a market leader in the western European pharmaceutical CDMO space, serving a global blue-chip customer base, including seven of the top ten pharma companies. The company offers a broad range of specialised product types and therapeutic areas across multiple attractive niches. NextPharma has over 1,000 employees and operations in Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria.
NextPharma was acquired by an affiliate of Sun European Partners in 2011. Over the last six years, Sun has strengthened senior management, worked with the company’s senior management team to drive efficiencies within the business through optimising the manufacturing footprint and fully aligned the business with the growing industry trend of outsourcing to CDMO specialists. As a result, profitability more than doubled.
Lionel de Posson, Principal at Sun European Partners, said: “We are happy with the progress the company has made during our ownership, and wish them continued success.”
Peter Burema, CEO of NextPharma said: “Over the years, Sun and NextPharma have enjoyed an enormously successful partnership; bringing about substantial growth and development to the company and delivering a superior service to our customers around the world. The strategies implemented have put NextPharma in a much stronger position and management look forward to partnering with CapVest in building on our core values of quality, speed and service, and further expanding our customer offering.”
Commenting on behalf of CapVest, Christopher Campbell, Partner, said: “NextPharma is an excellent business with a leadership position in a growing market and we look forward to supporting management on the next exciting phase in the company’s journey.”
Contact:
Fergus Wheeler
FTI Consulting
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3727 1522
