Takeda gets a $2.2B deal for its OTC unit as debt-relief drive nears its end
In a big step toward its $10 billion divestment goal, Takeda struck a deal to sell its Japanese consumer healthcare business, known for over-the-counter products, to US private equity firm Blackstone Group.
Takeda Consumer Healthcare Company was priced at around ¥242 billion ($2.28 billion), though that value will be adjusted to account for net debt and working capital, according to Takeda.
The deal — expected to close by the end of March 2021 —is part of Takeda’s plan to shed $10 billion in non-core assets to balance out debt incurred in the company’s $62 billion Shire acquisition. The buyout made Takeda a top 10 international drug company, but also saddled it with a reported $48 billion in net debt. Following the acquisition, Takeda shifted its focus to the following five areas: gastroenterology (GI), rare diseases, plasma-derived therapies, oncology and neuroscience.
Blackstone will gain a portfolio of OTC drugs and products which raked in a total revenue of ¥60 billion ($567 million) last year, including Alinamin, TCHC’s top-selling product.
This is Takeda’s fourth deal this year to sell off non-core assets. It also agreed to divest assets in Asia-Pacific to Celltrion for up to $278 million in June; to European Orifarm for up to $670 million in April; and to Latin-American Hypera Pharma for $825 million in March. And less than a month ago, Takeda began offering early retirement to Japanese employees.
Last November, Takeda spelled out a five-year plan for 14 growth brands with 20 potential added indications, including budesonide, its potential eosinophilic esophagitis drug, and TAK-788, a second-line drug for non-small cell lung cancer.
“TCHC played an important role in Takeda’s long history, but with our growth strategy now focused on five key business areas – Gastroenterology (GI), Rare Diseases, Plasma-Derived Therapies, Oncology and Neuroscience – and an increasingly competitive consumer health care market in Japan, the ownership transition will benefit both TCHC and Takeda,” Takeda president and CEO Christophe Weber said in a statement.
