Japan's AGC Asahi Glass buys PE-owned CMC Biologics
Japanese glass, ceramic and chemicals maker AGC Asahi Glass has paid JPY60 billion ($510 million) for CMC Biologics, a Denmark-based biopharmaceutical manufacturer backed by several private equity firms.
The deal will see AGC acquire a 100% stake in CMC, providing an exit for US-based GP Monitor Clipper Partners and Europe-based European Equity Partners (EEP) and Innoven Partenaires. Closing is expected in January 2017. CMC will continue to operate as a separate brand and will retain its current leadership team and employee base.
Founded in 2001 in Denmark, CMC now has more than 500 employees and three facilities in the US and Europe. The company provides manufacturing services to global pharmaceutical firms for drugs in both testing and commercial phases.
AGC has been seeking a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) to help it expand its services into biopharmaceutical products. The company has been active in the contract manufacturing business in Japan for over 10 years and recently launched operations in Europe through the acquisition of German CDMO Biomeva this August.
"With the high level of growth and success that CMC Biologics has had over the last 15 years, I am thrilled that we now will be a central part of AGC's pharmaceutical services business," David Kauffmann, chairman of CMC, said in a statement. "AGC's commitment to best technology solutions and longtime partnership with clients align well with CMC Biologics' mission to be the preferred biologics CDMO service partner for the world's top pharmaceutical and biotech companies."
CMC's PE backers have been involved with the company for some time: EEP first invested in 2002, and Innoven Partenaires joined in 2004. Monitor Clipper is the most recent GP to come on board, committing an undisclosed amount of capital in a 2008 round that also saw EEP and Innoven Partenaires re-up.
EEP and Innoven Partenaires both focus on European companies, with EEP providing growth capital to companies based in northern Europe in the information technology and life sciences field, and Innoven Partenaires supporting companies with high growth potential in life sciences, IT, communication and clean energy, focusing primarily on France but considering investments across Europe as well.
Monitor Clipper is a joint venture formed in 1998 by the Monitor Group, a strategy consulting firm, and the Clipper Group, a PE firm. The GP, based in Boston, seeks investments in middle-market companies in North America and Europe to which it can add signficant value through its experience and its financial resources.
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