By Connor Hart
The European Commission has granted unconditional approval for Novo Holdings' pending acquisition of Catalent, a deal expected to close towards the end of the year, subject to closing conditions.
Catalent Chief Executive Alessandro Maselli said Friday that the approval represents a significant milestone in completing the sale.
Novo Holdings, which owns a controlling stake in Wegovy-maker Novo Nordisk, agreed to buy Catalent in February for $16.5 billion, including debt. In turn, Novo Holdings will flip three of the most critical Catalent plants to Novo Nordisk for $11 billion, helping the drugmaker boost production of its hot-selling diabetes and obesity medications.
Somerset, N.J.-based Catalent provides outsourced manufacturing for many top drug companies.
The deal exemplifies the lengths to which Novo will go to shore up its production and fill spiraling prescriptions, which are expected to generate tens of billions of dollars in yearly sales. It is also a sign of a booming weight-loss drug market after the treatments, and their diabetes cousins, emerged as one of the hottest segments of the pharmaceutical industry.
"With the European Commission's approval, we are one step closer to delivering the benefits of this transaction," Novo Holdings Senior Partner Jonathan Levy said.
Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 06, 2024 14:02 ET (19:02 GMT)
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