“As India is the largest supplier of generic medicines globally, it is our ambition for our pharmaceutical business to have a strong presence there,” said IMCD CEO Piet van der Slikke.

Signet’s portfolio is focused on pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and biopharma excipients across categories such as diluents, fillers, sweeteners, disintegrants, binders and surfactants, among others. As well as India, the Mumbai-based company is active in Bangladesh, the Middle East and Africa. It has about 100 employees and generated revenue of 13.2 billion Indian rupees, approximately €152 million, in the 12 months ending June 2020.

The transaction will take place in two tranches, with IMCD acquiring 70% of Signet’s share capital now and taking the remaining 30% by 2024. Signet’s founders will continue to lead the company once the sale of the first tranche has completed.

IMCD said that the acquisition of Signet, which has an asset-light business model and long-term relationships with leading tier 1 global excipient producers, has a strong strategic rationale and is an important step in the Dutch distributor’s strategy to become a leading global specialty pharma ingredient distributor. The move also boosts IMCD’s presence in India and lifts its position in the high-growth Asia-Pacific region.

The transaction is set to close in the fourth quarter of 2020. IMCD has raised about €400 million through an accelerated book-build offering of nearly 4.4 million newly issued ordinary shares and will use some of the net proceeds to fund the purchase of 70% in Signet with the rest being used for general corporate purposes.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist