Pharmstandard, Millhouse close deal to acquire stakes in Biocad Holding
MOSCOW. July 25 (Interfax) - Pharmstandard , a major Russian drug maker, and Millhouse have completed individual acquisitions of shares in Biocad Holding Ltd., the principal shareholder of St. Petersburg-based biotech company CJSC Biocad, the companies said in a joint statement.
Pharmstandard acquired a 20% stake in Biocad Holding Ltd., while a company affiliated with Millhouse acquired 50%.
Pharmstandard financed the acquisition with its own money, the press release states.
Biocad CEO and founder Dmitry Morozov will retain a 30% stake in Biocad Holding Ltd and will continue to run the company with his management team, the statement said.
Biocad develops, manufactures and promotes its own and generic drugs to treat illnesses in the areas of urology, gynecology, dermatovenereology, oncology and hematology, as well as autoimmune and infectious diseases. The company has a line of 14 drugs.
"Millhouse and Pharmstandard have a successful track record of working together to develop leaders in the pharmaceutical market. The companies previously cooperated on the acquisitions of ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and CJSC Masterlek, and on Pharmstandard's initial public offering," the press release said.
It was reported earlier that in this deal the companies would buy the stake of Gazprombank , which acquired a controlling stake in the pharmaceutical company in 2011 for about $250 million-$300 million, as well as part of the stake held by company management.
RMG senior analyst Ksenia Arutyunova valued all of Biocad at $1 billion. Therefore, the stakes acquired by Pharmstandard and Millhouse are worth $200 million and $500 million respectively.
Millhouse is acting as a financial investor, who will divest the stake at some point, Arutyunova said, adding that this stake could be bought by Pharmstandard.
Biocad currently sells its products in Russia and other CIS countries. The company has offices in Ukraine, Belarus, Brazil, China, India and the United States. Biocad is also setting up production of drugs based on monoclonal antibodies in Brazil.
Biocad has two factories in Russia - in the Moscow Region and in the St. Petersburg special economic zone. The company had revenue of 3 billion rubles in 2013.
It was reported earlier that U.S. drug makers Pfizer and Amgen were interested in buying Biocad. The company was valued at $0.75 billion-$1 billion.
