Kühne Holding Inks Deal for Aenova
The company adds a top-10 CDMO to its portfolio in the process, while also expanding its commitment to the pharma industry.
Kühne Holding AG, the holding company of third-party logistics provider Kuehne+Nagel, has agreed to purchase Aenova Group, a pharma contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), from BC Partners, an international investment firm. Although financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, BC Partners’ advised funds are expected to reinvest alongside Kühne Holding AG, while continuing to financially support Aenova by being a minority shareholder.
The Aenova Group has reportedly become one of the 10 largest CDMOs in the world and in 2023, delivered a record pro-forma revenue of $890 million (€832 million), which represents an increase of 17% over 2022.1
"With this investment, we are taking an important strategic step to enlarge our investment portfolio to include healthcare and pharmaceutical assets with a strong financial base and long-term growth prospects,” said Dominik de Daniel, Kühne Holding AG’s CEO. “Aenova is on a great performance track, and we are excited to accelerate it even further under our ownership.”
Over the past year alone, BC Partners has completed or signed a total of nine liquidity events which have realized $8.6 billion (€8 billion) of value for BC Partners’ advised funds and co-investors, which demonstrates its capabilities. The firm itself sees great promise in this specific transaction.
“It has been a pleasure to partner with Jan and the entire Aenova team on this journey. Together, we have positioned the business as a global leader in contract manufacturing and built solid foundations for future growth, with the company now benefiting from strong sales momentum, a record order book, and supportive sector tailwinds,” noted Raymond Svider, chairman, BC Partners. “We’re pleased to see such an important German healthcare business continue its growth trajectory under the strategic ownership of Kühne Holding AG. As a firm, we have a long and successful history of partnering with families and founders across Europe, and we look forward to working closely with Kühne Holding AG and Aenova in this next chapter for the business.”
As for the CDMO, the deal provides plenty of opportunity for it, especially in the field of manufacturing services.
"With the new ownership structure, we will continue to implement our strategy of making Aenova the go-to CDMO with market-leading capabilities and innovative specialty technologies in Europe,” commented Jan Kengelbach, CEO, Aenova. “With its long-term investment horizon, Kühne Holding AG is a perfect fit for the business to support this strategy. It allows us to continue down the path of operational excellence in the conventional manufacturing business, while building highly sought-after technology platforms and development services to satisfy the customer demand of the future."
Reference
Kühne Holding Acquires Pharma Contract Manufacturer Aenova from BC Partners. BC Partners. April 23, 2024. Accessed April 25, 2024. https://www.bcpartners.com/news-and-insights/k-hne-holding-acquires-pharma-contract-manufacturer-aenova-from-bc-partners/
