A major acquisition by its controlling shareholder pushed Novo Nordisk's (NVO 0.84%) U.S.-listed shares 4% higher on Monday. As a result of the deal, Novo Nordisk will acquire from that shareholder (Novo Holdings) three fill-finish sites currently operated by the acquisition target. The jump in Novo Nordisk's share price contrasted quite positively with the S&P 500 index's 0.3% slump for the session.
Parent company buying Catalent in a deal worth $16.5 billion
On Monday morning, Novo Holdings revealed that it has entered into an agreement to take possession of healthcare contract manufacturer Catalent (CTLT 0.21%). The price of the all-cash deal is $63.50 per share, a nearly 17% premium to Catalent's closing price last Friday. That gives it an enterprise value of $16.5 billion. The transaction is expected to close toward the end of this year.
Catalent operates more than 50 manufacturing facilities around the world; Novo Holdings is to sell three fill-finish facilities to Novo Nordisk. Two are located in Europe (Italy and Belgium, to be more precise) while the third sits in Bloomington, Indiana.
Novo Nordisk has become prominent, particularly in the U.S., mainly due to the skyrocketing popularity of its Wegovy obesity treatment. In the fourth quarter, sales of Wegovy nearly quadrupled.
In Novo Nordisk's press release regarding its looming acquisition of the three sites, it wrote that this "enables an expansion of the manufacturing capacity at scale and speed while providing future optionality and flexibility for Novo Nordisk's existing supply network."
Filling capacity expanding
All three sites should transition to their new ownership quickly, as they already collaborate with Novo Nordisk. The company wrote that the trio should start to expand its filling capacity beginning in 2026, although it did not provide any estimates of this impact.
