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New Jersey-based contract drugmaker Catalent Inc. is set to be acquired by Novo Holdings, headquartered in Denmark, in an all-cash deal valued at $16.5 billion. Novo Holdings said Monday that it plans to sell three of Catalent’s fill-finish sites to subsidiary Novo Nordisk, including its massive biologics plant in Bloomington.
The acquisition follows a rough year for Catalent, which manufactures COVID-19 vaccines for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, as well as other injectable medicines.
The contract development manufacturing organization at one point was looking to add 1,000 jobs in Bloomington, where it employed about 4,000 people in 2022. But the company instead ended up announcing the layoffs of a total of 550 employees, citing a drop in demand for the vaccines.
The Catalent campus covers 62 acres and has four buildings totaling almost one million square feet. The facility was opened by Cook Pharmica in 2004 and acquired by Catalent in 2017.
With the news of Novo Holdings’ acquisition, Catalent CEO Alessandro Maselli said the deal will build on the efforts the company has made over the past several years.
“This transaction is a testament to our team’s hard work and dedication to this mission, and I am incredibly excited for this next step in our journey,” Maselli said in a news release. “We look forward to benefiting from Novo Holdings’ significant resources to accelerate investment in our business and enhance key offerings as we continue to offer premium development and manufacturing solutions for pharma and biotech customers.”
As a result, Novo Nordisk, in which Novo Holdings as a controlling interest, will acquire the Bloomington plant, as well as facilities in Anagni, Italy, and Brussels, Belgium. The Bloomington plant,
It was not immediately clear if any Bloomington jobs would be affected by the deal. However, Novo Holdings CEO Kasim Kutay said in the release that his company is excited to partner with Catalent as it enters “a new phase of growth.”
“With our expertise and track record of investing in high quality life sciences businesses, we believe Catalent is a very good strategic fit,” Kutay said. “We are excited to support the company’s stakeholders in the years ahead, especially employees and customers as they work to develop new products to benefit patients. As engaged investors committed to productive relationships with all our partners, we look forward to working with the Catalent team to realize the company’s full potential.”
The acquisition was unanimously approved by Catalent’s board of directors. The deal still requires approval by Catalent stockholders and is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
Company officials expect the deal to close toward the end of 2024. Upon closing, Catalent shares will no longer be traded on the New York Stock Exchange, and Catalent will become a private company.
Catalent stock was up 9.5%, to $59.73 per share, near the end of trading on Monday.
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