August 26 2020
After months of rumors, Takeda has finally unveiled a deal to sell its Japanese consumer health business to Blackstone Group.
The U.S. private investment shop could pay JPY242 billion ($2.3 billion) for the business, helping the Japanese drugmaker hit its $10 billion divestment goal and pay down debt from the Shire acquisition. The actual price will be adjusted according to net debt and working capital, Takeda said.
The unit’s current management and workforce will stay put after the takeover, which is expected to close by March 31, according to Takeda.
“Today’s transaction will provide [Takeda Consumer Healthcare Company] with the ownership, resources and strategic focus to continue to thrive and meet the needs of customers, while further sharpening Takeda’s strategic focus and commitment to financial discipline and transforming science into life-changing medicines,” Takeda CEO Christophe Weber said in a statement on Monday.
Just as GlaxoSmithKline’s planning to do with its Pfizer consumer health joint venture, Blackstone aims to take the ex-Takeda business public in about five years, Atsuhiko Sakamoto, a senior managing director at the private equity firm, told Bloomberg.
“It has lost some market share in recent years due to lack of investment and new products. We want to put it on track for self-sustaining growth,” Bloomberg quoted Sakamoto as saying.
Before an IPO, the private equity firm aims to invest JPY 50 billion to strengthen the business’s performance through its sales networks and to launch new products, the news service reported.
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