Gerresheimer Glas, an indirect subsidiary of Gerresheimer, has today signed a purchase agreement with funds advised by Triton for the acquisition of Blitz Lux, the holding company of the Bormioli Pharma Group. The purchase price is based on a determined enterprise value of around €800m, which corresponds to an adjusted EBITDA multiple of around ten.

Bormioli Pharma has nine production sites in Europe, generating revenues of around €370m and an adjusted EBITDA margin of around 21%. Bormioli Pharma has a complementary portfolio of pharmaceutical primary packaging made of glass and plastic, as well as closure solutions, accessories and dispensing systems. With this acquisition, Gerresheimer strengthens its European footprint with additional production sites, especially in Southern Europe, and underpins its market position as a leading full-service provider and global partner for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

The acquisition is expected to be 50 to 100 basis points accretive to adjusted EBITDA margin in the near term and more than 10% accretive to EPS from the first year after closing. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and approvals. Closing is expected in the fourth quarter of the 2024 financial year.

“With this transaction, we are putting an exclamation mark on our growth ambitions,” says Dietmar Siemssen, CEO of Gerresheimer. “Bormioli Pharma is an ideal strategic fit for us and accelerates our transformation into an integrated systems and solutions provider. In particular, we are expanding our portfolio to include further high-value solutions. Both companies complement each other both in terms of product portfolio and regional coverage with production sites in Europe.”

“Bormioli Pharma has been a Triton portfolio company since 2017. Since our investment, the company has gone through a substantial transformation in recent years with double-digit profitable growth,” says Moritz Gudenus, Investment Advisory Professional at Triton. “We are very pleased that we have found a great partner for the company in Gerresheimer, who will continue this success story.”

Andrea Lodetti, CEO of Bormioli Pharma Group, adds: “With the support of Triton, we were able to build out our positions across pharma packaging, with one-stop-shop capabilities in terms of technology as well as product offering. We thank the Triton team for their support and look forward to our next chapter of growth with Gerresheimer.”

Complementary, attractive product portfolio

Like Gerresheimer, Bormioli Pharma has achieved double-digit profitable growth in recent years and counts leading pharmaceutical companies among its customers. With around 1,500 employees the company generates revenues of around €370m and an adjusted EBITDA margin of around 21%. In addition, the acquisition is expected to generate synergies of 3-5% of the company’s sales in the near and medium term. Bormioli Pharma manufactures pharmaceutical primary packaging made of glass and plastic, as well as closure solutions, accessories and dosing systems.

In the plastics sector, Bormioli Pharma is one of the leading suppliers of pharmaceutical plastic systems and solutions with five production sites in Italy, France and Germany. In the glass sector, Bormioli Pharma has an attractive portfolio for parenteral and other pharmaceutical primary packaging with four production sites in Italy and Germany.

Transaction supports transformation into a system and solution provider

At the same time, the acquisition of Bormioli Pharma accelerates Gerresheimer’s further transformation into a system and solutions provider as part of the formula g corporate strategy. In the future, Gerresheimer will be able to offer more integrated solutions consisting of primary packaging and matching closure options and will become one of the leading full-service providers for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Strategic reset of Moulded Glass business

Following the integration, the acquisition will create a new, strong Moulded Glass business unit, with new options for a strategic reset for best growth prospects and competitiveness. The combined moulded glass business would generate pro forma sales of around €750m in 2024 with an EBITDA margin of around 21% before synergies.

Strong commitment to innovation and sustainability

Gerresheimer and Bormioli Pharma share a strong commitment to innovation and sustainability. Both have implemented structured innovation processes in the company, to develop for example particularly user-friendly, barrier-free and secure systems and solutions or smart connected primary packaging. At the same time, both companies have set ambitious goals in the area of sustainability and are working together with customers on more environmentally friendly primary packaging solutions, among other things.

Financing of the transaction through a banking syndicate

The purchase price will be financed by a bridge loan from a banking syndicate consisting of UniCredit, Commerzbank and LBBW.