Chemical Union goes shopping and can receive new partner

Tenth largest country in the ranking of pharmaceutical sales in retail units, Chemical Union prepares to buy assets in the sector, in an operation that could result in the arrival of a new partner to the company. There are ongoing conversations, ensures the lab controller, Fernando de Castro Marques, and a deal should be closed even in 2016.
The size of this operation that will determine the need for a new shareholder and the piece that will fit in the lab. Also because of this variable it is possible that the Chemical Union don''t have to resort to a private equity fund to carry out the acquisition, especially after receiving a cash payment by the company stock descruzamento with the Biolab, another major national pharmaceutical.
A little over a month, Fernando and his brothers Cleiton and Paul put an end to the corporate dispute involving the Chemical Union and the Biolab. The fight dragged for eight years and the brothers, who had cross-shareholdings in two laboratories, reached a definitive agreement that gave Cleiton and Paul a slice late 80% of Biolab (which were already controllers) and Fernando, an 88% stake in the Chemical Union-other two sisters, Cleide and Cleita followed with 12% in the company.
As part of the arrangement, Marques received a sum of money, not revealed, the difference of two laboratories. These features can be applied in the desired purchase.
Buy assets to gain muscle is not new to the pharmacist. In recent years, the Chemical Union bought the Bio lab Macro (of similar and non-prescription drugs), the Tecnopec (which marked its entry on the market of animal assisted reproduction), the Bthek (of biotechnology to agricultural pest control) and, more recently, a factory that belonged to Novartis in Taboão da Serra (SP). The economic crisis in the country, in the assessment of the entrepreneur, opened some good buying opportunities, although the assets are still valued. "It''s worth a look," he says. The generic business, which can be the scene of major operations of purchase and sale, is not on the radar, he adds.
The American Fund General Atlantic is following in the footsteps of lab-ongoing conversations are protected by confidentiality agreement-and has shown interest in bond trading. But there is no exclusive deal and the Chemical Union is open to talk to other funds that may have interest in investing in the lab. The output of society would take place in 2018, in an initial offering of stock.
At this point, the account manager, the assets under consideration range from $ 1 million to more than 400,000,000 R$. This range of 400,000,000 R$, as Marques, the acquisition would be closed without the need for new capital. "We are evaluating some alternatives [to buy], between companies and factories, both in the area of human health as in veterinary medicine," he says.
Today, about 16% of pharmaceutical sales, which reached R$ 1.02 billion last year, corresponds to the area of animal health-and Division, 28% are from the pets (pets). The main Division, responsible for 30% of the business, is the hospital segment in which sales to private clients have compensated for the reduction of the buying public.
Already the leading pharmaceutical product is the 21 Cycle contraceptive, which in its segment competes with Microvlar, Bayer, and has market share of 61%. But the focus, according to Mahmood, is growing in all segments, through prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs (OTC) and hospital. "Apart from the provision of services, which has become an important business," he says.
In this sense, while seeking opportunity to purchase Chemical Union is investing in 40,000,000 Anovis R$, which comprises the factory of medicines purchased from Novartis in 2015. Production in the unit is entirely dedicated to third parties, including the pharmaceutical industry, and have idle capacity that can be occupied by other contracts. In 2016, the recipes with this unit should reach 200,000,000 R$, against R$ 140,000,000 last year, says Marques.
With the investment, the total employees in the factory of Taboão da Serra will be 600 to 1000 until the first quarter of next year and will assume the leadership isolated as the largest outsourcing company for the production of medicines in the country.
Currently, the unit produces 600,000,000 of pills a year and is able to manufacture more 2.1 billion tablets. With the investment in capacity expansion, improvements to systems and processes and modernization of installations, the unit will feature a new area of injectables and lyophilized.