Waterland sells Omega for €3.6bn

The sale price comprises €2.48bn for the purchase of Omega's equity and a further €1.1bn for the assumption of debt.

Of the €2.48bn supplied for Omega's equity, around 25% will be provided in the form of Perrigo stock (around 5 million shares) exclusively to Omega founder Marc Coucke.

The remainder of the equity purchase price will be financed through a combination of cash and debt, with Perrigo having secured a €1.75bn bridge facility from JP Morgan Chase Bank and Barclays.

Previous investment
Waterland acquired Omega in January 2012, taking the company private in a deal that valued it at €848m. Waterland backed the company via its Waterland Private Equity Fund V, which closed in July 2011 on €1.1bn.

The take-private was done through the Couckinvest holding, with Waterland's holding company, Holdco I BE, taking a 48.85% stake and founder Marc Coucke's Alycho taking 49.54%. Omega's management controlled a 1.62% stake, bringing the shareholding in Omega owned by Couckinvest to 97.1%.

Company
Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Nazareth, Omega is an over-the-counter pharmaceutical company, owning several brands for cough and cold treatment, skincare, pain relief, weight management and gastrointestinal treatment.

It has a portfolio of 2,000 products and is present in 25 countries. The company employs 2,500 staff and generated €1.2bn in revenues last year.

People
Marc Coucke is the founder and CEO of Omega. Joseph Papa is the chairman and CEO of Perrigo.

Advisers
Acquirer – JP Morgan Securities (Corporate finance); Barclays (Corporate finance); Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Legal).
Vendors – Morgan Stanley (Corporate finance); Allen & Overy (Legal).

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