Milano (Italy), 20 January 2022 – Kedrion’s existing shareholders (the Marcucci family and FSI) have entered today into a partnership with Permira – the global private equity firm, supported by their co-investor, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) – to jointly acquire and combine Kedrion and BPL. The combination will create a global player for medicines derived from human blood plasma, which treat patients with rare and life-threatening conditions.
As a result of this transaction, the Permira funds will own a controlling stake in the combined business, which generates approximately €1.1bn in annual revenues and employs in excess of 4,000 people worldwide. The new enterprise will represent a top global player in this attractive, long term growth industry, with significant value creation opportunities.
The Permira funds, in partnership with the Marcucci family, intend to support the combined company to grow organically through internationalization of its existing portfolio and new product development, as well as pursuing inorganic growth opportunities to become a diversified and specialist rare disease platform.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Permira, and we are pleased that they share our vision of the significant global growth potential in this important and dynamic sector,” said Paolo Marcucci, Chairman of Kedrion. “The combined group will not only bring together complementary assets needed to be a major global player, but it will also mean that together, we can reach more patients in need of plasma-derived therapies.” Marcucci added: “Our family is fully committed to Kedrion’s future in this exciting partnership with Permira, and we look forward to working with our BPL colleagues and embracing the future together.”
Wu Xu, Chairman of BPL and of TII, said, “The BPL team and its shareholders are very pleased to have reached an agreement with Permira and Kedrion’s shareholders that will bring together our companies into one, creating a premier competitor with true worldwide scale. Patients, customers, and donors as well as employees, will all stand to benefit as the new company continues to invest in its capabilities and grow in this next stage of evolution. Permira’s experience in healthcare and pharma makes them the ideal partner for this journey into a promising future”.
Silvia Oteri, Head of Healthcare at Permira, said: “We’re honoured to be partnering with the Marcucci Family on this exciting project that brings together two high-quality players – Kedrion and BPL – in the plasma-derived therapeutics space, a growing industry with an important unmet patient demand. This investment fits squarely within the Specialty Pharma segment of our strategy: backing highly specialised platforms in attractive and resilient therapeutic areas. Together, the two companies will have an exciting portfolio of pharmaceutical products aimed at helping patients with compromised immune systems or bleeding disorders and we look forward to working with the teams to build a leading rare disease specialist platform with a deep commitment to its patients and donors.”
The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. The Permira Funds were advised by Morgan Stanley, EY, Latham & Watkins, Giliberti and Triscornia e Associati. Kedrion shareholders were advised by Lazard, Natixis, Carnelutti and Pedersoli. BofA Securities and Goodwin Procter served as advisors to BPL and BPL’s sole shareholder, TII.
Permira is a global investment firm that backs successful businesses with growth ambitions. Founded in 1985, the firm advises funds with total assets under management of approximately €58bn and makes long-term majority, minority investments. The Permira funds have made approximately 300 private equity investments in four key sectors: Technology, Consumer, Services and Healthcare. Permira employs over 350 people in 15 offices across Europe, North America, and Asia.
The Permira funds have previously invested over €3.5bn across 17 investments in healthcare, scaling some of the most innovative healthcare businesses globally, including Althea, Neuraxpharm, Quotient Sciences and LSNE. For more information, visit www.permira.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.
About Kedrion Biopharma
Kedrion is a biopharmaceutical company that specializes in the development, production and distribution of plasma-derived therapeutic products for use in treating serious diseases, disorders and conditions such as immune system deficiencies and coagulation disorders. The company operates through a fully integrated business model from the collection of plasma in its own centers in the United States to fractionation and production in its manufacturing facilities located in Italy, Hungary and North America. Headquartered in Castelvecchio Pascoli (Lucca, Italy), Kedrion has over 2,800 employees and a commercial presence in 100 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.kedrion.com
About Bio Products Laboratory (BPL)
BPL consists of two operating divisions — BPL Plasma and BPL Therapeutics. BPL Plasma, headquartered in Austin, Texas, collects plasma from donors in 28 centres across the USA. BPL Plasma employs over 900 staff to serve donors and ensure high-quality plasma collection in all their centres. Plasma is shipped to the headquarters of BPL Therapeutics in Elstree, United Kingdom. This plasma is then fractionated, purified, and filled through the efforts of approximately 1,000 employees at BPL Therapeutics in Elstree, UK. BPL’s plasma-derived medicines are commercially available in the UK, USA, and over 30 other countries around the world through our network of local affiliates and distribution partners. For more information, visit www.bplgroup.com
