METRICS CONTRACT SERVICES acquired by CATALENT

Stanley Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in Laboratoire X.O following the liquidation of its former owner, Novalpina Capital. The deal resolved a year-long legal dispute between management and transitional managers (BRG). This new phase focuses on a strategic merger with Noden Pharma (another SCP portfolio company), providing X.O with a commercial platform in Ireland and the United States. The goal remains to triple revenue within 3-4 years through aggressive portfolio acquisitions.

Unither Pharmaceuticals, a global leader in sterile single-unit dosage manufacturing, has undergone a capital reorganization led by its management team and a consortium of prominent investors. GIC and IK Partners have entered as new equity partners, while Keensight Capital and Parquest are reinvesting to reinforce their existing positions. The consortium is acquiring the majority stake from Ardian, following a successful five-year partnership.

TPG Capital has signed a binding agreement to acquire a majority stake in DOC Generici from ICG and Mérieux Equity Partners. The strategic rationale for the transaction is driven by the continued expansion of the Italian generic drug market and DOC Generici's position as a reference brand for patients and healthcare providers. TPG intends to partner with the existing management team to accelerate the company’s leadership through significant investment in organic growth and external consolidation. This acquisition represents a continuation of the company's successful history as a private equity-backed consolidation platform, following previous ownership cycles under Charterhouse, CVC, and ICG. The entry of TPG is expected to provide the capital and global infrastructure necessary to further diversify the product portfolio and optimize the supply chain, ensuring the long-term delivery of high-quality, low-cost medication within the European regulatory framework.

Healthcare-focused investment firm Mérieux Equity Partners has completed the strategic merger of two of its existing portfolio companies, Addmedica and Laboratoires CTRS, creating a new consolidated entity named Theravia Pharma. As part of this corporate combination, the sponsor—which already held existing stakes in both businesses—elected to significantly increase its overall equity position. Mérieux EP rolled over its historical shares and convertible bonds while simultaneously acquiring additional equity, notably buying out the exiting founders of Addmedica. This move enabled the fund to step up its ownership and secure a majority controlling stake of approximately 70% in the newly formed group. The equity enhancement and the refinancing of existing credit facilities were supported by the successful raising of new senior debt.

A consortium of prominent financial sponsors, led by UI Investissement and supported by GENEO Capital Entrepreneur alongside historical partner Crédit Agricole Centre France, has successfully executed a growth equity investment in Neftys Pharma. The transaction is structured around a €30 million capital increase, injected directly into the company's balance sheet to fuel its ambitious expansion trajectory. Concurrently, the financial sponsors' equity injection is optimally paired with a newly secured, structured debt financing package exceeding €52 million, provided by the firm's historical banking syndicate. This platform investment is fundamentally rooted in a robust value-creation thesis aimed at accelerating the company's aggressive buy-and-build strategy across the fragmented European animal health market. By infusing significant dry powder into the business, the financial consortium provides Neftys Pharma with the requisite firepower to execute highly accretive external growth opportunities, aiming to double its size over the next five years.

Astorg has entered into an agreement to acquire CordenPharma from International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG), a leading pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in complex drug development and manufacturing. CordenPharma covers the full pharmaceutical lifecycle, from early-stage development through to large-scale commercial production. The company operates a diversified technology platform spanning peptides, lipids and carbohydrates, highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients (HPAPIs), injectables and small molecules. This multi-technology setup enables CordenPharma to address increasingly complex pharmaceutical requirements across high-growth therapeutic areas including oncology, metabolic diseases and advanced modalities. CordenPharma operates an integrated industrial footprint with R&D and manufacturing sites across Europe and the United States, providing end-to-end development, scale-up and multi-site production capabilities. The group serves a broad base of leading global pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers. As part of the transaction, management and founding shareholders are expected to reinvest alongside Astorg, reflecting strong alignment around the company’s future growth strategy.

The private equity arm of Goldman Sachs Asset Management has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority equity stake in Dutch pharmaceutical company Norgine, successfully outbidding rival sponsors Bain and Cinven in a highly competitive auction process. The Stein family, the company's historical owner for over 110 years, is relinquishing majority control of the asset while retaining a significant minority stake to actively support the business through its next phase of development. The transaction, which received official regulatory clearance from the European Commission in September 2022, was executed with sell-side advisory from Rothschild & Co and Moelis & Company, while Goldman Sachs International and Jefferies acted as financial advisors to the buyer. This new strategic partnership aims to accelerate Norgine's organic growth trajectory by leveraging the sponsor's global network and deep operational expertise. The joint objective is to consolidate the company's existing brands, commercialize new products from its research pipeline, and support potential external growth initiatives (buy-and-build) or licensing agreements. This acquisition underscores the continued strong momentum of Goldman Sachs' private equity division within the healthcare and specialty products sectors, with the sponsor having recently demonstrated its expertise through several major exits, notably including the sale of Caldic to Advent International, as well as the trade sale of HRA Pharma to an industrial player.

Fresenius Kabi agreed to acquire 100% of Ivenix, delivering on its "Expand MedTech" growth vector under its Vision 2026 strategy. The combination of Ivenix's leading hardware and software infusion platform with Fresenius Kabi's existing intravenous fluids and infusion device portfolio creates a comprehensive premium MedTech offering for the US market. Significant scale and growth synergies are expected from the transaction. The Ivenix Infusion System is expected to be neutral to Fresenius Kabi's Group cash earnings per share in 2025 and accretive from 2026 onwards.

Fresenius agreed to acquire a 55% majority stake in mAbxience from its founding shareholders, with a contractual put/call option mechanism covering the remaining 45% of the share capital. The acquisition delivers on Fresenius Kabi's core "Broaden Biopharma" growth vector under its Vision 2026 strategy, addressing a critical gap in the division's value chain by adding flexible, single-use biologic drug substance manufacturing capacity. The transaction is expected to generate material operating and cost synergies, primarily driven by leveraging mAbxience's manufacturing capabilities for Fresenius Kabi's existing biosimilars portfolio, and to create an end-to-end integrated biopharmaceutical platform serving both internal programmes and third-party CDMO clients.

This transaction marks the third leveraged buyout for HTL Biotechnology, with Montagu Private Equity entering into exclusive negotiations to acquire a majority stake from Bridgepoint. Partners Group joined Montagu as a co-investor in this operation, while the existing management team remains significantly involved in the capital. The strategic rationale for this LBO is to accelerate HTL,s transformation from a specialized hyaluronic acid producer into a diversified, global biopolymer platform. Under the previous ownership, the company significantly expanded its R&D capabilities, doubled its production capacity with a €50M industrial investment, and established a strong presence in the US and Chinese markets. Key to this new phase of growth is a major partnership with Eirion Therapeutics, positioning HTL as the exclusive manufacturer of a novel botulinum toxin using its proprietary fermentation process. Montagu intends to leverage its healthcare expertise to further the group,s internationalization and portfolio diversification, particularly in high-growth segments like tissue engineering. The acquisition is supported by a significant unitranche financing package, reflecting the strong cash-flow generation and premium positioning of the asset in the pharmaceutical supply chain.