Aztiq-Innobic consortium to buy Alvogen subsidiary for $475m

A consortium led by Icelandic pharmaceutical investment fund Aztiq and Thailand-based life sciences company Innobic has agreed to acquire all shares of Alvogen Emerging Market Holdings (AEMH) from its current stakeholders for $475m.

The deal is claimed to be one of the largest in the pharmaceutical sector this year.

AEMH is currently owned by Alvogen Lux Holdings, whose key shareholders include CVC Capital Partners and Temasek Holdings of Singapore.

On concluding the takeover, the consortium will become a shareholder in oncology pharmaceutical company Lotus Pharmaceuticals, as well as Alvogen Malta.

In 2014, Alvogen acquired a major stake in Lotus, which grew into a company with direct market access in more than ten countries in Asia.

Lotus and Adalvo said they will have a competitive benefit in the sector due to the consortium’s exclusive market knowledge and robust shareholder support, allowing them to grow their leadership worldwide.

Aztiq founder and Alvogen chairman and CEO Róbert Wessman will remain in position as Lotus and Adalvo’s board chairman.

Wessman said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the existing shareholders for their great support in the transformation of both Lotus and Adalvo, and at the same time to welcome our new partner Innobic as we look forward to carrying out the essential work of expanding access to medicines to more people who need them.

“With our vast collective expertise, and the comprehensive geographic networks and solid market intelligence in the Alliance of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN brought by Innobic and PTT, I believe that Lotus and Adalvo will have a compelling competitive advantage, enabling both enterprises to support one another and advance their global leadership in their sectors.”

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.

In October 2019, Czech pharmaceutical company Zentiva signed a definitive agreement to buy Alvogen’s Central and Eastern European business.