Cinven to acquire Mercury Pharma for $730 million

Cinven, a Channel Islands-based private equity firm, said last Friday that it has reached agreement to acquire UK specialty drugmaker Mercury Pharma, as a platform for further industry consolidation, from Hg Capital for an enterprise value of £465 million ($730 million).

Mercury markets niche and branded pharmaceuticals, with its customers including retail pharmacies and hospitals in the UK, as well as international markets. It has a strong focus on the UK although its products are sold globally in more than 50 countries incorporating Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The company has a broad portfolio of well-established products including treatments for anesthesia, anti-psychotic, arthritis and anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular, critical and emergency care, joint and musculoskeletal, pain and pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Headquartered in Surrey, UK, Mercury has operational bases in the UK, Ireland and India. The company has generated strong revenue growth in recent years with sales well over £100 million. It has a highly experienced management team, led by John Beighton, group chief executive, who joined Mercury in 2010. He was previously UK managing director of