By Arno Schuetze and Pamela Barbaglia
FRANKFURT/LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Advanz Pharma
has drawn interest from private equity funds, including U.S.
buyout fund Carlyle, as its creditors are scrambling to find a
new owner following a debt restructuring deal last year, sources
familiar with the matter said.
Carlyle, which recently hired GlaxoSmithKline's
former chief financial officer Simon Dingemans to lead
its healthcare coverage across Europe, is among a group of
bidders that have handed in indicative offers for the
London-based firm, the sources said.
Nordic Capital and TDR have also joined the auction which is
led by U.S. investment bank Jefferies, they said.
The process is challenged by diverging views on valuation as
Advanz's creditors are aiming for a price tag of about $2
billion while private equity bidders are wary of paying up after
previous attempts to sell the business fell through, the sources
said.
Advanz Pharma, Carlyle, Nordic Capital and TDR declined to
comment.
Advanz's creditors are hoping the business could fetch at
least eight to nine times its estimated 2020 core earnings of
$240 million, the sources said.
The company, which was formed from the 2015 merger of
Concordia Healthcare and AMCO, makes a wide range of drugs used
in endocrinology, urology, pain management and cardiology among
other therapeutic areas.
In 2018 the drugmaker, which was trading on Nasdaq as
Concordia, was delisted as part of a debt restructuring deal and
then rebranded Advanz Pharma.
Its debt was slashed by $2.4 billion as part of its
restructuring which saw Blackstone's credit investment
arm GSO taking control along with Bybrook and Solus.
On Nov. 6, Advanz Pharma reported third-quarter 2020 revenue
of $129 million, with a net loss of $42 million.
Its third-quarter 2020 adjusted core earnings declined to
$53.5 million from $55.9 million in the same period in 2019 and
$65.1 million in the second quarter of 2020.
Advanz also provides off-patent medicines which it regularly
buys from big pharma groups such as GSK, Novartis
and Abbott.
(Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Pamela Barbaglia; editing by
Emelia Sithole-Matarise)