Novo Holdings, parent company to Novo Nordisk, has announced a merger agreement to acquire contract manufacturing giant Catalent in an all-cash transaction valued at $16.5 billion.
Novo Holdings plans to sell three Catalent fill-finish sites and related assets acquired in the merger to subsidiary Novo Nordisk for an upfront payment of $11 billion. These sites, located in Anagni, Italy; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; and Brussels, Belgium, will be divested shortly after the merger's closing. Novo Nordisk, which already had long-standing agreements with Catalent, plans to use the newly-aquired sites to expand capacity for its weight loss and diabetes portfolio.
Boosted by the success of diabetes drug Ozempic and weight loss drug, Wegovy, the drugmaker has been on a deal-making spree. In August, Novo Nordisk acquired Montreal-based Inversago Pharma in an obesity deal worth up to $1.075 billion. Weeks later, Novo paid $16 million upfront to pick up startup Embark Biotech, giving Novo control over the biotech's lead metabolic program.
Novo Holdings aims to complete the Catalent merger by the end of 2024. Catalent stockholders will receive $63.50 per share in cash, representing a 47.5% premium to the 60-day volume-weighted average price.
Catalent, headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey, has over 50 global manufacturing sites and a workforce of 18,000 individuals. The company reported nearly $5 billion in revenue in its 2022 fiscal year.
