Bayer AG, Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation, Perrigo Company, And Sanofi (France) Linked To Omega Pharma NV Sale; Deal Could Cost More Than $5.3 Billion
Bayer AG, Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation, Perrigo Company, And Sanofi Linked To Omega Pharma NV Sale; Deal Could Cost More Than $5.3 Billion
August 29, 2014
By Krystle Vermes, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Belgium-based healthcare company Omega Pharma NV is allegedly attracting numerous bids from businesses across the industry, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. Perrigo and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH are rumored to be interested in acquiring the company.
Omega Pharma, which recently went up for sale, is worth approximately $5.3 billion. Bayer AG and Sanofi are supposedly looking at Omega Pharma as well. However, all of the bidders of the sale remain undisclosed. The businesses participating in the bidding process claim that the sale is private, which gives them anonymity. Omega Pharma is working with Morgan Stanley.
Omega Pharma’s operating profit for the first six months of 2014 was 130.1 million euros, which is the equivalent of more than $171 million U.S. dollars.
The Appeal of Omega Pharma
The Belgium company is renowned for its over-the-counter products, and it owns 2,000 brands that are supported by about 10,000 brand registrations across the regions where it operates.
The company has been in operation since 1987 and now has approximately 2,500 employees. It has a wide range of products in areas such as skincare and pain management. Omega Pharma is known for producing Solpadeine, which is one of the best-selling pain relief drugs in the U.K.
Omega Pharma originally announced that it would be heading toward a sale back in July. At this time, people familiar with the situation said that the company could fetch about $4 billion. This news came after Omega Pharma climbed 11 percent in profit in 2013.
Since the sale became public, Omega Pharma has been made some moves to that could make it more attractive to potential buyers. For example, reports came out on Aug. 20 that said the company had purchased Warman-Freed pharmacy in Golders Green to transform it into a “learning pharmacy.”
Now, Omega Pharma has gained an additional resource to learn more about the average shopper’s experience. In turn, the company that buys Omega Pharma will have this asset on their hands as well. However, the business seemed to have made purchase without the possibility of a sale on its mind.
“This initiative isn’t about Omega Pharma’s commercial strategy; this is about driving positive change for the industry as a whole so that together we can make sophisticated and evidence-based business decisions centred on pharmacy retailers and the patient,” said Neil Lister, general manager of Omega Pharma UK.