BASF plans Orgamol buy to boost pharma
to buy Orgamol SA of Switzerland as part of an expansion of its
BASF Pharma Solutions unit, reports Phil Taylor.
If the transaction is completed, the acquisition will boost BASF to join the top ten providers of pharmaceutical contract manufacturing services.
Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but BASF said it had already reached agreement with the private owners of some 75 per cent of Orgamol's shares. The acquisition still needs to be approved by regulators and the Swiss's company's 450 employees, who control the remaining 25 per cent of the company.
Employees are scheduled to meet 25 June 25 to vote on the sale, with a two-thirds majority required to approve the deal.
Orgamol produces fine chemicals, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), intermediates and generics. Last year, the company posted sales of €100 million. Besides its primary operations at two sites in Evionnaz, Switzerland, where it employs 320 people, the company also operates a second production site in Saint-Vulbas, France (pictured), with 150 staff.
The three sites encompass R&D facilities, a cGMP kilo lab put online in 2002, pilot plant facilities and over 400 square metres of production capacity for multi-tonne volumes in glass-lined and stainless steel vessels. Volume production amounts to about 700-800 tonnes/year.
According to Orgamol's website, the company is specialised in phosgenation, catalytic hydrogenation, azide chemistry, catalytic reductions at pressures of up to 12 bar, cryogenic chemistry, hydride reductions with sodium borohydride or lithium aluminium hydride, organometallic chemistry and halogenations, especially chlorination and bromination.
"This is a strategic step on the way to expanding our fine chemicals business further and achieving sales of €3 billion and an EBITDA margin before special items of 20 per cent," said Martin Laudenbach, head of BASF's Fine Chemicals division.
BASF's Pharma Systems employs some 800 workers, and makes fine chemicals use in the production of medicine, nutritional products and
