Vectura Group Undergoes $1.36 Billion Takeover by Global Investment Firm
British pharmaceutical company Vectura Group has been on somewhat of a rollercoaster during the past few years, to say the least. The company nearly hit rock-bottom in 2018 when its severe asthma treatment flunked in a Phase III trial, resulting in the decision to discontinue development of the drug.
However, it appears that Vectura is thriving once again.
On Wednesday morning, the company announced that it would be undergoing a $1.36 billion takeover by global investment firm The Carlyle Group.
The hefty sum shakes out to be a 32% premium to Tuesday's closing price, or $161 per share.
“While the Vectura directors remain confident in the long-term fundamentals of the Vectura Group, we believe that this is an attractive offer for Vectura shareholders,” said chairman Bruno Angelici. “The offer reflects the quality, strength and long-term performance of Vectura's businesses and its future growth potential."
Aside from the takeover, Vectura has been getting itself back on track ever since its rough ending to 2018.
Vectura specializes in bringing inhaled medicines to the market, and works with a variety of partners including Novartis, Bayer and GlaxoSmithKline.
In 2020, the company signed 18 new contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) contracts and saw a revenue increase of 6.9% versus 2019. The company also established a new business development team with a presence in the United States, Europe and the U.K.
“This is an exciting time for the Group and with continued momentum expected from our CDMO business, we look forward to a positive 2021," said Will Downie, chief executive officer of Vectura, at the time of the announcement.
Carlyle is no stranger to the life sciences industry. Carlyle has invested more than $16 billion of equity in health care since the formation of the group. Just last month, the company announced that it was acquiring Unchained Labs, a life sciences tools company, for $435 million.
Unchained works to solve problems for biologics and gene therapy researchers. The acquisition is expected to close in Q2 2021, pending regulatory approvals.
“Unchained Labs sits at the intersection of one of the most attractive sectors in healthcare, life science tools, and its fastest growing end market, biopharma,” said Steve Wise, Global Head of Healthcare at Carlyle. “With strong industry tailwinds, we believe Unchained Labs has significant growth opportunities and we’re excited to support another founder-backed business to scale through investments in research and development, digitization and geographic expansion.”