Equistone acquires Omnicare

Katharine Hidalgo
14 August 2019

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Equistone Partners Europe has agreed to acquire a majority stake in wholesale pharmaceutical company Omnicare Pharma.

The management team will reinvest in the transaction and will continue to lead the company. Omnicare acts as a cooperative enterprise with numerous pharmacists owning minority stakes. Around 40 pharmacists hold equity, though many may have sold their stakes in this transaction, according to Unquote sister publication Mergermarket.

The sale process saw Chequers Capital and a strategic bidder also competing for the asset, according to Mergermarket. Belgium-based pharmaceutical company Fagron and a US-based strategic bidder dropped out of the process at an early stage.

Omnicare generates revenues of €670m and is expected to achieve revenue growth of 5% in 2019.

The vendors initially priced Omnicare at more than 10x its EBITDA of €30-35m, but this may have dropped to a single-digit multiple throughout the sale process, according to Mergermarket.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in Q4 of 2019.

Company
Founded in 2002, the company distributes finished medicinal products for the manufacture of anti-cancer drugs. Since 2018, it has also offered quality assurance and educational services for specialised pharmacies and medical practices.

Headquartered in Unterföhring, Omnicare employs 193 staff. It also operates locations in Calw and Cologne.

People
Equistone Partners Europe – Dirk Schekerka (senior partner, country head DACH); Alexis Milkovic (partner); Julia Brunswicker (investment manager).
Omnicare – Oliver Tamimi (managing director).

Advisers
Equity – P + P Pöllath + Partners (legal, tax); Alvarez & Marsal (commercial due diligence); Deloitte (financial due diligence); Houlihan Lokey (debt advisory); Dechert (legal); Shearman & Sterling (legal); ETS (insurance due diligence).
Company – Hengeler Müller (legal); BCG (commercial due diligence); KPMG (financial due diligence); EY (tax); Lincoln International (M&A); Honert & Partner (legal).