Irish pharmaceuticals business Uniphar has announced plans to list its shares on AIM and Euronext Dublin in July 2019, raising up to €150m, through joint-book runners J&E Davy and RBC Capital Markets.
Uniphar started out as a community of pharmacists in 1967 called United Pharmaceuticals Co-Op and added Allied Pharmaceuticals Distributors in 1972, many of which remain shareholders in the company today.
Through acquisition the company has built a diversified group, its original Supply chain Irish business and two divisions spear-heading growth which represent two thirds of earnings.
Commercial & Clinical provides an outsourced marketing and distribution service to medical device manufacturers. The Product Access division specialises in sourcing and supplying unlicensed medicines to meet the needs of retail and hospital pharmacy customers.
RECENT RESULTS
Last year the company generated €1.55bn of revenues, gross profit of €159.6m and earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation of €46.3m. (EBITDA)
The directors believe that its integrated model is of particular relevance to meet the requirements of specialty manufacturing clients seeking to procure services from a single strategic partner. The company’s strategy is to double EBITDA over the five-year period to 2023.
It will achieve this goal by scaling existing relationships, building a pan-European infrastructure for medical sales in specialty areas from a base in Ireland and the Benelux with the intention to enter the Nordic markets later this year.
Proceeds from the placing will be used to pay for the acquisition of Durbin, other bolt-on deals as well as funding capital expenditure and working capital needs. Following admission, the company expects to have a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio less than 1.5 times.
Chief executive, Ger Rabbette says ‘Uniphar has grown significantly to become a leading diversified healthcare services business, in line with our vision to improve patient access to pharmaco-medical products and treatments through enhancing stakeholder connectivity’.
An enterprise value to EBITDA rating of 12 to 15 times would value the business in a range of €555m to €695m.
