CFP BioConnect AG – now ACXIT Capital Partners – advised Celonic AG on the sale of its CMO business to the Rettenmaier Group
Frankfurt/Main, September 2011. CFP BioConnect, the former Life Sciences arm of the Corporate Finance Partners Group – now ACXIT Capital Partners, is pleased to announce that it has advised Celonic AG, Basel/Switzerland on the sale of its contract manufacturing business (“CMO”) to JRS Rettenmaier AG, Swiss subsidiary of Rosenberg/Germany based J. Rettenmaier & Söhne GmbH + Co. KG.
Celonic offers a complete range of services for the manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, including cell line and process development, GMP production of cell banks and recombinant proteins for clinical trials and commercial use. Founded as a spin-off from the Research Center Jülich, Celonic has meanwhile become a meaningful service provider for the biotech and pharmaceuticals industry and has developed a particularly strong expertise in offering manufacturing solutions for biosimilars. The transaction involves the sale of the facilities at the Swiss headquarter in Basel, and the disposal of the wholly owned subsidiary Celonic GmbH in Jülich/Germany.
JRS Rettenmaier is a worldwide leading manufacturer of cellulose fibers, which have a broad range of applications, including the products for the pharmaceuticals, food, nutrition, chemistry and construction industry. Through its subsidiary JRS Pharma, the Rettenmaier Group is the worldwide leading manufacturer and distributor of high quality excipients and related technologies for the pharmaceuticals and nutritional industries.
The acquisition of Celonic’s CMO business will provide the Rettenmaier Group with a strong platform to establish and further develop a market position in the fast growing biotechnology industry, complementing its existing service offering in the pharmaceuticals sector. For Celonic, this strategic move secures the continuation of its growth and an expansion of its existing capacities, as well as access to new markets and customers. The purchase price was not disclosed by the parties.
“We are extremely proud to become part of the Rettenmaier Group, thereby securing continued growth for our CMO service business. CFP BioConnect provided valuable advice and managed the sales process in a very professional manner.”
– Dr. Andreas Herrmann, founder and CEO of Celonic AG
This transaction is another testimonial for CFP BioConnect’s ability to initiate and execute cross-border M&A transactions. Following the acquisition of ProBioGen AG by our client Minapharm Pharmaceuticals last year, this is the second M&A transaction in the biopharmaceuticals CMO sector within one year, underlining our expertise in this industry segment.
About ACXIT
ACXIT Capital Partners is a leading independent corporate finance and investment advisory firm for mid-market clients and entrepreneurs in Europe and beyond. Since 1998, ACXIT offers its clients comprehensive corporate finance advisory services including M&A and capital markets advisory as well as restructuring, equity/debt and strategic advisory. As an independent, privately owned firm we maintain offices and representations in Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Leipzig, Zurich, Hong Kong and New York, as well as strong alliances in France, China and India. (www.acxit.com)
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