Akorn said today it will acquire VersaPharm parent VPI Holidings for $440 million cash, in deal that builds the buyer’s a specialty drug portfolio with more than 20 products focused on dermatology indications. The 20 include 11 ANDAs filed with the FDA, with the expectation of filing an additional four to eight applications per year.
Akorn said the acquisition of VersaPharm will not only boost its specialty pharma portfolio – which includes niches in tuberculosis and hemophilia in additrion to dermatology – but also complement its manufacturing platform, acquired in an earlier merger with Hi-Tech Pharmacal. Last year. Akorn shelled out $640 million for Hi-Tech Pharmacal, a deal that strengthened the buyer’s position as the third-largest seller of generic ophthalmic drugs in the U.S.
“This acquisition is a highly strategic fit with the recently acquired Hi-Tech platform as well as Akorn’s focus on niche dosage forms,” Akorn CEO Raj Rai said in a statement. “Our acquisition strategy will have resulted in doubling our revenues and product portfolio in a short period of time. With this acquisition we have further diversified our portfolio. We are also very excited about VersaPharm’s robust pipeline that will further accelerate our Company’s long-term growth opportunities.”
The acquisition is expected by Akorn to add $90 to $100 million in annual revenues and 10 to 12 cents per share in additional earnings, outside of new pipeline launches, deal amortization and acquisition-related expenses. Akorn said it intends to fund the transaction through about $445 million in term loans.
Akorn said it anticipates closing the deal in the third quarter subject to customary conditions, including termination of the waiting period under the provisions of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976, as amended.
Founded in 1995, VersaPharm is headquartered in Marietta, GA, with an R&D site in Warminster, PA, and offices for operations staffers in Tarrytown, NY. VersaPharm’s first product was Pyrazinamide tablets USP 500 mg, used in the treatment of tuberculosis. Last year the company won its most recent FDA approval, for the skin treatment Triamcinolone Acetonide Lotion Topical 0.025% and 0.1%. The long-acting synthetic corticosteroid designed to treat skin irritation and inflammation.
