Spain's Grifols has agreed to buy US-based Talecris Biotherapeutics for Ôé¼2.8 billion, it has been announced.
The Madrid-based company is buying Talecris, which makes blood plasma drugs, as part of its strategy to expand its business in blood products.
Grifols, which specialises in plasma protein therapies and is present in more than 90 countries, said on Monday it expected about $230 million (approx. Ôé¼192 million) in annual synergies from the deal, which is also expected to boost earnings from the first year. The acquisition has been unanimously approved by both companies' boards and recommended to their shareholders.
The combined company will have annual revenues of around $2.8 billion (Ôé¼2.3 billion), with 58 per cent generated by North America, 28 per cent by Europe and 14 per cent by the rest of the world.
The companies said that GrifolsÔÇÖ global footprint will benefit from TalecrisÔÇÖ strong presence in the US and Canada; while GrifolsÔÇÖ available manufacturing capacity will enable Talecris to increase production in the near term.
GrifolsÔÇÖ chairman and CEO Victor Grifols commented: ÔÇ£The acquisition of Talecris furthers our vision to better serve patients and health care professionals with innovative products, a strong clinical research capability and new research into recombinant therapies.
ÔÇ£We look forward to combining the strengths of both companies to improve the quality of the lives of patients around the world, while positioning the enlarged group for long term profitable growth.ÔÇØ
The chairman and CEO of Talecris, Lawrence D. Stern, added: ÔÇ£We believe that GrifolsÔÇÖ well-established reputation, know-how and expertise will enable the combined entity to meet the needs of more patients.
ÔÇ£Our employees will benefit from the opportunities available to them as part of a larger, global organization committed to the expansion of TalecrisÔÇÖ existing business, the development of our pipeline products, and the maintenance of our culture of compliance and quality.ÔÇØ
North Carolina, US-based Talecris was formed in 2005 when German drug and chemicals group Bayer sold its blood products unit to the private equity firms Cerberus and Ampersand for $590 million.
The US company agreed to merge with its larger rival, the Australian blood products group CSL, in 2008, but the deal fell apart last year following pressure from US antitrust regulators.
Last year, Talecris posted revenues of $1.5 billion (approx. Ôé¼1.2 billion) and net income of nearly $154 million (approx. Ôé¼128 million).
