Evotec AG and Aptuit have entered into a definitive agreement under which Evotec will acquire Aptuit for $300 million. As a partner research organization for integrated outsourced drug discovery and development solutions, Aptuit offers scientific expertise across drug discovery, pre-clinical testing and both drug substance and drug product manufacturing to its Biopharma partners. The acquisition will add business opportunities to further accelerate Evotec's long-term strategy to be the industry partner of choice for external innovation.
Aptuit provides a set of integrated early discovery to mid-phase drug development services in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry with a proven track record over many years. As a partner, it is defined by its excellence in science, defined outcomes, highly efficient solutions and accelerated timeframes to progress drugs to clinical testing. Aptuit has approximately 750 employees working across three discovery, development and manufacturing facilities in Europe.
Evotec's drug discovery value proposition today is to offer integrated services up to delivering pre-clinical development candidates. The acquisition of Aptuit grows Evotec's business and extends the value chain offering through to Investigational New Drug ("IND") submission and beyond to integrated drug substance and drug product and commercial manufacture. Evotec's business model increasingly relies on the progression of pre-clinical candidates through to the clinic and beyond. With Aptuit's IND enabling capabilities, especially through the INDiGO platform, Evotec will increasingly control and accelerate the IND submission of its partnered products. The ability to move seamlessly from target to IND and beyond will position Evotec as the true innovation efficiency leader in the market. Significant cross-selling opportunities exist between the businesses with the ability to offer Evotec's existing partners pre-clinical and development services through Aptuit.
The acquisition also provides the opportunity for EVT Innovate to access additional capacity and industry-proven expertise for its growing portfolio of projects. Aptuit's exceptional team of scientists and managers represents a unique asset for Evotec, with the strong cultural fit between Aptuit and Evotec expected to help achieve a smooth and successful integration into the global footprint of Evotec.
Evotec will pay a total consideration of $300 million in cash for the acquisition of Aptuit from Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, a private equity firm focused exclusively on the technology and healthcare industries. The acquisition of 100% of the issued and outstanding equity interests of Aptuit Global LLC, Aptuit Limited and Aptuit AG and the funding of all existing company debt is financed through a mix of existing cash reserves and an additional new EUR 140 million senior debt facility. The acquisition will be accretive to Evotec's revenues and make a significant contribution to Evotec's EBITDA. The transaction furthermore strengthens Evotec's overall strategic plan. The acquisition is expected to close in Q3 2017.
Full guidance update will be given upon closure of the transaction, which is expected in Q3 2017.
"Bringing together two major players in the drug discovery industry is a big step forward for Evotec to expand our unique focus in external innovation for Pharma, biotech and foundations,” Dr. Werner Lanthaler, Chief Executive Officer of Evotec, said. “We are very much looking forward to welcoming the employees of Aptuit within the Evotec Group after closing of the transaction."