Nycomed Owners Said to Be Exploring Possible Transaction Of Drugmaker
The drugmaker, whose owners also include Stockholm-based Nordic Capital, is using Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to review its options, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Nycomed may fetch as much as 10 billion euros ($13.6 billion), one of the people said. An initial public offering isnt an option in the current market, two of the people said.
Takeovers among drugmakers are gathering pace after New York-based Pfizer Inc. agreed in January to buy rival drugmaker Wyeth for about $63 billion. Nycomeds experimental treatment for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Daxas, may be submitted this year to U.S. regulators. Nycomeds business is focused on Asia, Russia and Latin America, where drug sales have been growing at a faster pace than in the U.S.
“We are looking for a partner for Daxas in the U.S.,” said Nycomed Chief Financial Officer Runar Bjoerklund in a telephone interview. He declined to comment on a possible sale.
A price tag of 10 billion euros would value Zurich-based Nycomed at about 10 times the companys estimated 2009 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of 1.2 billion euros, said one of the people. Nycomed hasnt received an approach yet and may draw bidders including Paris-based Sanofi-Aventis SA, London-based AstraZeneca Plc, as well as Eli Lilly & Co. and Merck & Co. of the U.S., the person said.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier today that Nycomed hired Goldman Sachs to explore a possible sale. Dagens Industri reported today that the drugmaker was considering an IPO once markets recovered to raise money for expansion in Asia.
Katarina Vestlund, a spokeswoman for Nordic Capital, Jack Grone, a spokesman for Credit Suisse in London, and Goldman spokeswoman Andrea Rachman in New York declined to comment.