Barclays Private Equity France joins management and ING Parcom Private Equity as principal shareholders in Unither Pharmaceuticals

Barclays Private Equity (‘BPE’) has acquired a controlling stake in Unither Pharmaceuticals (‘Unither’ or the ‘Group’) in a buyout for an undisclosed sum.  ING Parcom Private Equity (‘ING’), and the group’s long-standing shareholders, CM-CIC Investissement and Picardie Investissement, are reinvesting in Unither and will act as minority shareholders. Completion of the transaction is subject to standard regulatory clearances.

Unither Pharmaceuticals was first bought out as a factory employing 17 people in Amiens in 1993 and it is now a global player in the manufacture of dosage forms (products ready for customer use) for European pharmaceutical laboratories, and generic products (particularly eyewashes, saline solutions and anti-asthma drugs in sterile single-dose units and stick-packs). With four industrial sites and an R&D centre, Unither generated revenues of €151 million in 2010.  The Group currently employs more than 850 people, and has strengthened its position as a global market leader in sterile single-dose units by using Blow, Fill & Seal (BFS) technology.  The Group’s capacity for innovation, the quality of its control processes – as confirmed in 2011 by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of its Coutances facility – and the efficiency of its industrial apparatus mean that Unither products are popular with pharmaceutical laboratories.

This restructuring of the Group’s share capital is part of an ambitious strategy to pursue organic and external growth over the next five years.

Eric Goupil, President of Unither Pharmaceuticals commented: “Our financial partners, especially ING Parcom Private Equity, have enabled us to make a success of 2006-2011, which has been a significant period for the group’s development, marked in particular by the strategic acquisition of a site in Colomiers. The backing of Barclays Private Equity should enable us to continue this development and serve existing and future clients effectively in their specific markets.”

Denis Le Chevallier, Associate Director of ING Parcom Private Equity, said: “Since we joined Unither’s shareholders in 2006, we have assisted the Group’s management team in making some key strategy decisions. We continue to support management’s medium-term objectives without reservation, which is why we wanted to commit to a significant reinvestment.”

Guillaume Jacqueau, Managing Partner of BPE, added: “Unither has achieved a remarkable trajectory thanks to wise strategy decisions and the forging of close links with its principal clients over the past few years. We will be giving the management team our full support to enable the group to strengthen its position as a world leader, both through organic growth and acquisitions.”

This investment is the fourth in a very active year (2011) for BPE, which has also announced the acquisition of Coventya, The Mill and IN tIME Express Logistik. In addition to these acquisitions, BPE has this year realised investments in Siteco, Gerflor, Converteam, Karavel-Promovacances, Femcare, Jack Wolfskin, Martek Power, Webhelp and FirstAssist Insurance Services.