Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:FRX) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Aptalis, a privately held U.S. based specialty Gastrointestinal (GI) and Cystic Fibrosis company, for $2.9 billion in cash from its shareholders, including TPG, the global private investment firm. The acquisition, which requires review by anti-trust authorities in the US and Canada, is expected to be accretive to Forest's FY2015 non-GAAP EPS.
"Aptalis is an excellent strategic and financial fit for Forest because of its strong product offerings in two therapeutic franchises that are complementary to Forest - GI in the U.S. and Canada and Cystic Fibrosis in Europe. The acquisition of Aptalis helps diversify Forest while advancing our strategy to create blockbuster therapeutic areas," said Brent Saunders, Chief Executive Officer and President of Forest Laboratories, Inc. "Because there is such a strong fit, we expect to grow the sales of products from both Forest and Aptalis while realizing $125 million in cost synergies from combining the two companies. As a result, the acquisition is expected to add nearly $700 million in revenue and approximately $0.78 to our non-GAAP EPS in FY2015."
Aptalis had sales of $688 million in FY2013 which ended September 2013. Sales of the top three products in the U.S. - Canasa, Carafate, and Zenpep - accounted for more than 60% of company sales in FY2013. International sales accounted for approximately 15% of revenues. Aptalis Pharmaceutical Technologies, a third party delivery technology provider and drug manufacturer, accounted for approximately 15% of revenues.
