Catalent acquires MaSTherCell Global

Catalent acquires MaSTherCell Global

Catalent, Inc. (NYSE: CTLT) announced a $315 million deal for MaSTherCell Global, a technology-focused cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization based in Gosselies, Belgium. It is backed by Great Point Partners, SFPI-FPIM (the Belgian Federal Holdings and Investment Company) and Orgenesis Inc. (NASDAQ: ORGS). This is the Somerset, New Jersey-based CRO’s fifth deal since 2014, all of them for domestic targets, according to search results in our Healthcare Deals Database. Its most recent one was announced in April 2019, for Baltimore-based Paragon Bioservices, Inc., a contract research organization, for $1.2 billion. Founded in 2011, MaSTherCell has a... Read More »
Will Catalent’s Deal Launch the Next Wave of CRO M&A?

Will Catalent’s Deal Launch the Next Wave of CRO M&A?

Contract research organizations (CROs), like contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs), have been popular targets for private equity firms and strategic buyers for years. The deals seem to come in waves, and the healthcare M&A market may be in for a tsunami this year. In 2013, some 20 transactions for CRO/CDMO targets were announced, with some hefty price tags attached. Royal DSM paid $1.95 billion to buy Patheon. Other big deals that didn’t disclose prices came from KKR & Co. (NYSE: KKR), which acquired both PRA International and ReSearch Pharmaceutical Services that year. CRO deal volume rose a little in 2014 (27 deals), then ebbed in 2015 (11 deals). The... Read More »
Catalent Takes Juniper Pharmaceuticals Private

Catalent Takes Juniper Pharmaceuticals Private

Catalent, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTLT), a contract research organization (CRO), announced its acquisition of thinly traded nano cap Juniper Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: JPR) for $139.6 million. Catalent, based in Somerset, New Jersey, offers development services, delivery technologies and supply solutions for drugs and biologics. On a trailing 12-month basis, the company generated revenue of $2.4 billion, and EBITDA of $484.6 million. Juniper, based in Boston, Massachusetts, focuses on developing novel intra-vaginal therapeutics that address unmet medical needs in women’s health. This deal includes Juniper’s UK-based Juniper Pharma Services division, a high-end CRO. The transaction... Read More »
Stat of the Week: ‘Other Services’ Drops 19% in Q3:17

Stat of the Week: ‘Other Services’ Drops 19% in Q3:17

Investors have flocked to the “Other Services” sector this year, as its ancillary nature keeps the companies that comprise it largely outside the purview of reimbursement regulations and other stroke-of-the-pen sectors. The 42 transactions announced in this sector in the third quarter represent a 19% decrease from the previous quarter, and a 32% decrease compared with the year-earlier quarter.  Deal volume accounted for 22% of the 192 deals announced in the past 12 months. The “Other Services” category covers products and services related to human health care, but in an ancillary way, such as contract research organizations, ambulatory surgery centers, institutional and... Read More »
CRO Deals Pile Up, and So Do the Multiples

CRO Deals Pile Up, and So Do the Multiples

After 34 announced transactions in 2017, the news that one contract research organization (CRO) bought another CRO is downright yawn-inducing. This space is undergoing rapid consolidation, no question. Before this week, those 34 deals had a combined total of approximately $20.9 billion. Add another deal, and another $950 million, and the market just got a tad smaller. Catalent, Inc. (NYSE: CTLT) announced the 35th deal in this sector on September 19. Its target, Indiana-based Cook Pharmica LLC, is a biologics-focused contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with capabilities across biologics development, clinical and commercial cell culture manufacturing,... Read More »