Cambrex, manufacturer of small molecule and generic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), announced it will acquire Avista Pharma Solutions, a contract development, manufacturing and testing organization, for approximately $252 million. With this acquisition, Cambrex will enter the market for early stage small molecule development and testing services. Avista offers a suite of scientifically differentiated services ranging from API and drug product development and cGMP manufacturing to stand-alone analytical, microbiology testing and solid state sciences.
"We are excited to announce our acquisition of Avista, which further rounds out our small molecule service offering by adding a full complement of early stage development capabilities for both API and finished dosage form as well as comprehensive analytical testing services," said Steve Klosk, president and CEO of Cambrex. "The addition of Avista further underscores our commitment to providing the broadest possible range of world class services to our global customer base. Like the Halo transaction in September, this acquisition opens up an exciting new segment of the market for Cambrex and brings a large number of new customer relationships to Cambrex. These new relationships will provide cross selling opportunities for Cambrex’s API and finished dosage form services, and will significantly increase the funnel of molecules that may advance to commercial status, where Cambrex has always excelled."
Avista operates four facilities located in Durham, NC, Longmont, CO, Agawam, MA and Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, comprising over 200,000 square feet of space. The company has also worked on more than 200 small molecules for approximately 180 customers so far in 2018, providing some combination of analytical testing, early stage process chemistry, formulation development, manufacturing or solid state chemistry services. Including the microbiological testing business, Avista has over 400 active customers, and is expected to generate approximately $65 million in annual revenue in 2018. Avista’s 330 person workforce will join Cambrex’s 1,700 employees across the United States and Europe.
Cambrex will acquire Avista for approximately $252 million in total cash consideration. The acquisition is expected to be funded with a combination of cash on hand and borrowings under Cambrex’s existing revolving credit facility which in conjunction with this transaction, will be increased through the accordion feature. Cambrex has secured committed financing for the proposed increase.
Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to occur during the fourth quarter of 2018.
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