Novo Holdings, parent of Novo Nordisk, will buy contract drugmaker Catalent in an all-cash transaction worth US$11.5 billion to expand its capacity for popular weight-loss drug Wegovy, the companies said on Monday (Feb 5).

Catalent is the main supplier of fill-finish work, or filling and packaging syringes and injection pens, for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy.

Under the deal, Novo Holdings, which holds 76.9 per cent of the voting shares in Novo Nordisk, will buy all outstanding shares of Catalent for US$63.50 per share in cash, a premium of 16.5 per cent to Catalent’s last trading price.

Under a separate deal, Novo Nordisk will acquire three fill-finish sites from its parent, which is expected to gradually help increase Novo’s filling capacity from 2026 onwards.

Elliott Investment Management and some of its affiliates have agreed to vote their shares of Catalent common stock in favour of the merger with Novo Holdings.

The Danish company will also take on Catalent’s debt, taking the total enterprise value of the deal to US$16.5 billion. REUTERS

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