Novartis AG, Europe’s largest drugmaker, said it will purchase closely held Fougera Pharmaceuticals for $1.5 billion in a deal to gain generic skin medications.
Fougera, based in Melville, New York, had sales of about $429 million in 2011 and is owned by private equity funds including Nordic Capital, Avista Capital Partners and DLJ Merchant Banking, a subsidiary of Credit Suisse Group AG, the companies said today in a statement. The acquisition will make Sandoz, the generic drug unit of Novartis, the top global seller of generic dermatology medicines with an estimated revenue of $620 million, the companies said.
Novartis faces the loss of revenue as its top-selling drug, Divan for blood pressure, will meet generic competition this year. The Basel, Switzerland-based company bought the Alcon eye- care business and has introduced new medicines to offset the losses.
The acquisition “improves our ability to help patients and customers around the world by providing easier access to high quality, affordable dermatological medicines,” Jeff George, global head of Sandoz, said in a statement.
Novartis will pay a multiple of about 8.8 times Fougera’s 2011 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the all-cash transaction, the drugmaker said in its statement. The sale is expected to close in the second half of 2012, the companies said.
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