Japanese pharmaceutical company Towa Pharmaceutical and the Catalan Esteve today announced an agreement under which Towa will acquire the 100% from Pensa Investments.
This is the Spanish pharmaceutical company's generics division.
The transaction will be carried out for €320 million.
The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of January 2020.
Corporate finances and movements in the sector are gradually showing the general shift in direction that has been looming for years in the generic drug industry.
Towa Pharmaceutical is a Japanese pharmaceutical company, which has recently acquired the 100% of Pensa Investmentsbelonging to the Spanish pharmaceutical company Esteveby 320M€.
This generics division accounts for a third of the Spanish group's revenues, but it is an operation that forms part of its strategic plan.
The buy will be paid in a single upfront cash payment and will be fully closed before the end of January.
With the acquisition of the Catalan company, Towa will be able to supply high quality, value-added generic medicines to patients not only in Japan, but also worldwide.
It will do so through the production platform specialising in "pellets"Pensa and its network of subsidiaries in Europe and the USA.
In this way, the Japanese firm is beginning to lay the foundations for large-scale international expansion.
In fact, it aims to build a solid global structure that respects and integrates the human resources, culture and technologies of each party.
Headquartered in Kadoma, Kadoma-based Towa Pharmaceutical, a listed is dedicated since 1951 to research, development, production and marketing of generic medicines.
It has a team of more than 3,100 employees, and its total sales amount to 105,104 million Yen, some €867 million.
Pensa Investment is the legal entity that provides affiliated pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities..
Founded in 2006, Pensa currently employs around 850 people, 500 of whom work in production and operations.
It is present in 11 countries around the world such as Turkey and the USA, but especially in European markets such as Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.
It is based in Barcelona and was founded in 1929.
It has around 2,300 professionals, and a presence in Europe, the USA, Mexico and China.
In 2018, it had a turnover of €758m, with a weight of 73% coming from international markets.
This operation will allow the company to focus on its "core business"and accelerate its transformation into an innovative global specialty pharmaceutical company.
In 2018, as part of its strategic plan, Esteve announced its intention to focus its business on proprietary products and specialised medicine areas.
The divestment of Pensa was therefore a logical first step in its transformation process.
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