Commission clears acquisition of Leo Pharma by Nordic Capital and Leo Foundation

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of privately-held Danish drugmaker Leo Pharma by Nordic Capital Fund X of Jersey and Leo Foundation of Denmark. Leo Pharma develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products.

Nordic Capital is a group of private equity funds focusing on investments across selected sectors primarily in the Nordic region of Europe. The LEO Foundation is a private foundation established under Danish law. Two of Nordic Capital's portfolio companies are also active in the same or related markets as Leo Pharma, namely Advanz Pharma of Jersey in the distribution of finished dose pharmaceuticals (FDPs), and Acino International AG of Switzerland in pharmaceutical contract manufacturing (CMO) services.

The proposed transaction results in a few insignificant horizontal overlaps in the distribution of FDPs and in CMO services, as well as a number of unproblematic vertical overlaps between CMO services for sterile liquid pharmaceuticals in the European Economic Area (EEA) and the distribution of ophthalmological anti-infectives FDPs in a number of EEA countries.