Mobeus makes 3.7x money on Focus exit

Mikkel Stern-Peltz
02 October 2014

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Mobeus Equity Partners has sold Focus Pharmaceuticals to Cinven-backed pharma business Amdipharm Mercury (AMCo) for ТЃ50m, reaping ТЃ12m in cash.

The exit lands Mobeus 3.7x money and an IRR of 25% over the seven-year holding period.

The deal also includes a £2.6m deferred consideration and earn-out, which is yet to be realised.

The sale valued Focus at £50m, with the deferred consideration and earn-out adding a potential further £20m.

The buyer, AMCo, was formed through a merger in 2013, after Cinven acquired both Amdipharm and Mercury Pharma in 2012 for £367m and £465m, respectively.

Based in London, the pharmaceuticals company sells its products in more than 100 countries and managed revenues of £248m last year.

No additional funding from Cinven was provided for the acquisition. The deal was financed using the company's current facilities put in place when Cinven acquired Amdipharm and Mercury.

Previous funding
London-based Mobeus (then Matrix Private Equity) first bought a stake in Focus in 2007. It invested £3.2m in the form of an integrated debt and equity package to take a minority stake through a management buyout, according to unquote" data.

Management retained its majority stake in the company following the deal, which came about via an auction process.

Company
Founded in 2003 in Burton-upon-Trent, Focus produces niche generic pharmaceutical products in the UK, which it develops and licenses, in addition to selling third-party generic and branded products.

Since Mobeus's investment, Focus's revenues have grown from around £12m to almost £40m last year, with profits exceeding £6m.

People
Mobeus partner Ashley Broomberg worked on the deal for the GP, while AMCo CEO John Beighton represented the acquirer. Mark Cresswell is the CEO of Focus.