Novo Acquires Xellia for US$ 700 Million

Novo A/S, the holding company of Denmark's Novo Nordisk, has acquired Xellia Pharmaceuticals and purchased all shares of the group for approximately US$ 700 million. Xellia will now revert to Danish ownership with headquarters in Copenhagen. Closing of the transaction is expected to take place during the third quarter of 2013 and will be subject to relevant competition law approvals.

Xellia was spun-out from Alpharma in 2008. The company’s management and international investor 3i have successfully transformed the business from an API manufacturer to a specialty pharmaceutical focused on the development and manufacturing of anti-infective therapies for multidrug resistant infections. Products are manufactured using fermentation-based biological processes at Xellia’s facilities in Denmark, Norway, Hungary and China.

Xellia has a substantial pipeline of generic anti-infective treatments, which will be advanced towards commercialization in years to come. Novo’s investment will strengthen Xellia’s R&D capacity and expand its global manufacturing footprint to further scale its finished-dosage-form business.

“When the management team bought out Xellia in 2008, we had ambitious plans, which we were able to implement with 3i’s support, expertise and commitment. We have successfully transitioned the business in order to become a world leader in the supply of certain anti-infective products,” said Carl-Åke Carlsson, CEO of Xellia in a

. “Now, as we focus on the future and the further development of the business, including the launch of our novel antibiotics pipeline, we look forward to working with Novo and benefitting from their expertise in the life science sector. Together with Novo, we can strengthen the positive development that Xellia has achieved over the past few years, and at the same time, the investment by Novo will help accelerate our developments further.”

Novo’s CEO, Henrik Gürtler, said, “Xellia strongly complements our portfolio of significant life science companies in which we have major investments. This acquisition is well aligned with our strategy, and is one of the largest investments made by Novo A/S to date. The products that Xellia supplies are critical life-saving treatments for many patients around the globe, and are manufactured by use of fermentation technologies, which is a manufacturing approach similar to that of Novo Nordisk, Novozymes and Chr. Hansen. Xellia is a leader in its business area, and a company with a long Scandinavian heritage, which we are proud to bring back into long-term Danish ownership. We look forward to establishing a strong relationship with Xellia’s experienced management team and invest together in the future success of the Company.”