According to sources, an agreement exceeding €2 billion has been reached for the sale of the majority stake in Synthon, a company that BC Partners has owned since 2019, to the investment arm of Goldman Sachs.
The deal is regarded as highly successful for BC Partners, considering that when it acquired Synthon in 2019, the company’s valuation was €750 million. In addition to the substantial increase in the company's value, BC Partners will retain a significant 25% stake in Synthon upon the completion of the transaction.
The agreement comes at a time when global demand for generic drugs is steadily rising, as healthcare systems aim to reduce pharmaceutical costs. Synthon is well-positioned to benefit from this trend, as it is projected that the number of off-patent drugs will double within the next decade.
When BC Partners acquired Synthon in 2019, the pharmaceutical company’s annual EBITDA stood at €60 million. Following strategic investments in research and development under BC Partners' management, Synthon’s revenues have more than doubled, reaching €140 million annually. Over the last 18 months alone, BC Partners has returned nearly €13 billion to its shareholders, a remarkable achievement given the challenging global investment climate.
Additionally, it is notable that in 2021, BC Partners sold the pharmaceutical company Pharmathen to Partners Group for €1.6 billion. This deal resulted in the largest profit multiplier in Europe, more than 20 times EBITDA profits. BC Partners had initially acquired Pharmathen for €475 million in 2015. Similar to the Synthon deal, the goodwill in the Pharmathen transaction exceeded €1 billion.
