Lonza to acquire capsule manufacturer Capsugel

Lonza Group, a supplier to the life sciences industry, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire drug capsule manufacturer Capsugel from the latter’s parent organisation, KKR. Lonza will acquire the company for US$5.5 billion in cash, including refinancing of existing Capsugel debt of approximately US$2 billion, through a transaction that has been approved by the boards of both Lonza and Capsugel.

With approximately 3600 employees and 13 facilities on three continents, Capsugel is a leading supplier of oral dosage delivery technologies. Lonza’s acquisition of the company will allow cross-selling of existing products, combine manufacturing solutions and services and create an integrated value offering that merges Lonza’s ingredients with Capsugel’s dosage forms.

“The acquisition of Capsugel meets Lonza’s strategic and financial goals,” said Lonza CEO Richard Ridinger. “It accelerates our healthcare continuum strategy by giving us broader exposure to the fast-growing pharma and consumer healthcare markets.

“This new integrated approach will benefit our customers, who will gain from the simplicity and efficiency of working with one company that can provide world-leading support from APIs to excipients and dosage forms. The combined business will allow us to partner with our customers to help them bring highly differentiated products to market more quickly and efficiently.”

“The combination of our complementary technology platforms will put us in a strong position to benefit from evolving trends in the pharma and consumer healthcare markets,” added Capsugel President and CEO Guido Driesen.

“Both companies enjoy a strong quality and regulatory track record, and we believe that the combination enables us to provide the most complete set of tailored and integrated solutions for our customers. We look forward to bringing together our talented teams to deliver science- and engineering-based solutions to customers for the benefit of the patients and consumers who use their products.”

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017.