Herkules Capital's Pronova BioPharma receives takeover bid

BASF's offer prices all outstanding shares of the company at NOK 12.50, amounting to a total price of approximately NOK 3.76bn. The offer represents a 24% premium of the company's six-month volume-weighted average share price. Following the offer, Pronova's enterprise value, including all net financial liabilities, sits at NOK 4.845bn.

BASF has already received irrevocable commitments to the bid from holders of 60% of the company's share capital, including Herkules, which controls 50%. Another 9.1% stake is held by Kistefos Investments.

Herkules invested NOK 433m in Pronova in January 2004. Nordea provided debt for the transaction. The investment team included Gert W Munthe, Rikke T Reinemo, Kristian Eikre and Henning Sørlie. Capital for the deal was sourced from Herkules I. In November 2007, Pronova was floated on the Oslo Stock Exchange in an IPO worth NOK 2.7bn including over-allotment options. The IPO gave the company a market cap of NOK 6.9bn.

Herkules reduced its stake in the company from 58.4% to 50.01% in May 2009.

Pronova BioPharma develops and manufactures pharmaceuticals derived from omega-3 fatty acids. It is headquartered in Lysakker, Norway, with production facilities in Sandefjord, Norway, and Kalungborg, Denmark. Its prime product Omacor is sold in the US, the UK, Germany, Italy, France and Spain. In 2011, the company's turnover was NOK 1.669bn.

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