Astorg beats sponsors to acquire CordenPharma

The GP competed alongside Advent International in the final round of an auction led by William Blair, as reported by Unquote's sister publication Mergermarket. 

The company's founders will reinvest under the transaction, Astorg said. 

ICIG has been preparing CordenPharma for a sale since at least August 2021 after its EBITDA projections rocketed thanks to its lipid technology that backs the Moderna vaccine, as reported.

Astorg said the target had experienced strong organic growth thanks to its position in complex and fast-growing drug modalities including mRNA vaccines, peptides and high-potency compounds for oncology therapeutics. 

Pre-pandemic the company had EUR 60m-70m EBITDA but that has since ballooned to between EUR 260m-300m, as reported. 

The deal was signed at around EUR 2.5bn, according to media reports, with the vendor seeking a minimum valuation of EUR 2bn, as reported. 

ICIG intends to focus on its chemicals portfolio going forward, it said in a statement. 

Last year, Astorg filed its eighth flagship fund in Luxembourg, which will invest in companies with an enterprise value greater than EUR 600m, according to document's on Astorg's website. 

That fund's predecessor, Astorg VII, held a final close in January 2019 at EUR 4bn. 

The GP also recently closed its inaurgural mid-cap fund on its EUR 1.3bn hard cap. 

Advisors

ICIG - William Blair (M&A); Freshfields (legal); PwC (financial, tax); ERM (EHS); and LEK (commercial).

Astorg - Jefferies International (lead M&A) and Houlihan Lokey (M&A); Latham & Watkins (legal), EY (financial, tax); Alvarez & Marsal (operations) and BCG (commercial).

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• Astorg Partners