- The Consortium jointly, through Aztiq II HoldCo Limited, will acquire a 100% stake in Alvogen Emerging Markets Holdings Limited, thereby becoming the leading shareholders in Lotus and Adalvo.
- The Consortium’s collective industry experience, geographical reach, and commitment in sustainable development create a unique alliance of investors that can help guide the next phase of development for Lotus to become a global leader.
- Róbert Wessman, Chairman and CEO of Alvogen and Founder of Aztiq, will continue to maintain his role as Chairman of the board of Lotus and work closely with the existing executive team led by Petar Vazharov, CEO of Lotus, to keep on the journey of Lotus Group.
Lotus Pharmaceutical (1795:TT), a multinational pharmaceutical company, today announced that Aztiq (“Aztiq”, a healthcare investor led by Alvogen Chairman and CEO Róbert Wessman) and Innobic (Asia) Company Limited (“Innobic”, a wholly-owned Life Science arm of PTT Public Company Limited, “PTT”, SET ticker: PTT) have signed a definitive agreement to acquire a 100% stake in its controlling shareholder Alvogen Emerging Markets Holdings Limited (“AEMH”) from Alvogen Lux Holdings Sarl (“Alvogen”). Key shareholders in Alvogen include CVC Capital Partners and Temasek Holdings of Singapore, as well as Aztiq. The total transaction value is estimated to be approximately US$475 million, and the deal is expected to close during the first quarter 2022.
With this transaction, the joint force of Aztiq and Innobic becomes the leading shareholder in Lotus and the owner of global business to business (B2B) pharmaceutical company Adalvo.
Adalvo is one of the fastest growing B2B pharmaceutical company globally that Alvogen has transformed in 2018 from an in-house B2B platform to focus on global markets. In a short period of time, Adalvo has achieved a remarkable growth with over 500 transactions and a world class portfolio of 60 differentiated medicines, serving its partners and patients in over 100 markets around the world. Through the integrated platform that the consortium creates post the transaction, Lotus will have more direct access to the top-tier commercial partners in all the countries where Adalvo has commercial networks.
Furthermore, this transaction combines the proven track records of the consortium, potential synergies resulting from future partnerships and collaboration with portfolio companies, and the strong underlying platforms at Lotus and the affiliates to create an opportunity to drive significant growth and expansion.
Alvogen acquired a majority stake in Lotus in 2014 and together with its shareholders, Lotus has evolved into a next generation pharmaceutical company focused on global oncology with direct market access in more than 10 countries in Asia and global reach of its portfolio to over 130 markets covering US, China, Japan, Europe, Middle East, and Latin America, supported by its fully-upgraded facilities.
In April 2021, Innobic invested approximately US$50 million into Lotus by acquiring newly-issued shares via a private placement. Both parties, Lotus and Innobic, are committed to further collaboration with the aim of expanding access to high quality medicines. Further participation by Innobic, through its investment in AEMH, demonstrates both a strong belief in the Lotus strategy as well as a commitment to drive opportunities in South East Asian pharmaceutical markets including Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and other ASEAN countries, together with Lotus team.
Róbert Wessman, Chairman and CEO of Alvogen/ Founder of Aztiq, commented: “I am very proud to have witnessed the maturation of Lotus. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the existing shareholders for their great support in transformation and at the same time I would like to welcome our new partner as we look forward to carrying out the essential work of expanding access to medicines with strong expertise which all parties bring.”
“We are honored to have the opportunity to work with leaders across different sectors with the same shared goal to form a global leading pharma company,” Petar Vazharov, Chief Executive Officer of Lotus, added. “The further collaboration with Aztiq and Innobic, which we have been working closely, is truly a testimonial for all the achievements Lotus has made during the past few years and a great recognition by these two long term partners for Lotus being the most potential contender in the global pharma industry. We are confident that the stronger investor consortium will continue to support Lotus’ existing strategy and fuel the growth by bringing new opportunities, experience and resources.”
Dr. Buranin Rattanasombat, Senior Executive Vice President, Innovation and New Ventures, PTT and Chairman of Innobic (Asia), commented: “This partnership will accelerate our goal and enable Innobic to leap into being a fully integrated pharmaceutical company. By being the major shareholder in Lotus jointly with Aztiq, Innobic will have access to the capability of operating a full suite of pharmaceutical business, ranging from research, development, and formulation to production and commercialization, with a primary focus on generic drugs covering a wide range of therapeutic areas, in particular, oncology and central nervous system. The strengthened access to high quality medicines, together with the global networks and commercialization capability of Adalvo, and Innobic’s support to further expand the pharmaceutical businesses in the ASEAN and globally, make this investment fully in line with the goals and strategies for realizing life science business in Thailand and the ASEAN.”
Following the transaction, AEMH remains the controlling shareholder of Lotus Group. Róbert Wessman, Chairman and CEO of Alvogen and Founder of Aztiq, will continue to maintain his role as Chairman of the board of Lotus. The executive team of Lotus, led by CEO Petar Vazharov, remains the same and will continue to work closely with the Board to maximize the shareholders’ value. Lotus’ business cooperation with Alvogen companies will not be impacted by this transaction and will continue at strategic and operational levels on arm’s length bases.