BY Richard Summerfield
Roquette has agreed to acquire IFF Pharma Solutions, a worldwide producer of excipients for oral dosage solutions, from International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) in a deal worth $2.85bn.
IFF and Roquette expect to close the transaction in the first half of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. The agreed price represents an enterprise value to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) multiple of approximately 13 times.
“We are pleased to reach an agreement with Roquette that will support Pharma Solutions’ next chapter of growth as a trusted partner for the pharmaceutical industry,” said Erik Fyrwald, chief executive of IFF. “An important next step in our portfolio optimization strategy, the sale of Pharma Solutions, along with other recent actions such as our dividend rightsizing, represents a significant step towards our commitment to reducing debt leverage to 3.0x or below. This also enables us to increase focus on the core drivers of long-term profitable growth and maximize value for our shareholders.”
“We are excited to enter into this partnership with the talented Pharma Solutions team at IFF, which has grown into the go-to partner in the pharmaceutical excipients and specialty solutions markets globally,” said Pierre Courduroux, chief executive of Roquette. “The combination of our excipients expertise with IFF Pharma is a fantastic opportunity to become a true global specialist of drug delivery and oral dosage solutions, responding to the needs of our customers and to the demands of patients who are looking for continuously better treatments.”
IFF is headquartered in New York, and its pharmaceutical division is a world-class producer of excipients for oral dosage solutions, with revenues of approximately $1bn. The unit has 10 research and development or production sites globally, and around 1100 employees.
IFF has undertaken a programme of divesting its ‘non-core’ business units over the past few years as it attempts to reduce its outstanding debt load and improve its organisational structure. In mid-2021, the company struck a deal to sell its microbial control business to German specialty chemicals company Lanxess for $1.3bn. And, in late 2022, the IFF sold its savoury solutions group to PAI Partners, a private equity firm focused primarily on the food and consumer industries, for $900m.
Roquette, on the other hand, has been seeking to expand its pharmaceutical footprint in recent years. In July 2023, the company said it would acquire hard capsule maker Qualicaps, which has manufacturing and R&D sites in Japan, Spain, Romania, Canada, Brazil and the US.
News: IFF to sell pharma unit to France's Roquette in $2.85 bln deal