KKR offers $1.2bn to buy Swedish life sciences group Biotage
Private equity firm KKR has offered to buy all shares in Swedish life sciences company Biotage for Skr11.6bn ($1.2bn).
The public cash offer, via a newly formed company by KKR called RWK BidCo, is for Skr145 per share in Biotage. The offer, made on 22 April, represents a 60.1% premium on the life science group's last closing share price on 17 April.
Shares in Stockholm-listed Biotage surged 36% at market open on 22 April following the offer. The company has a market cap of $1.2bn.
Based on a full evaluation and assessment of the US private equity firm's takeover bid, Biotage's board has recommended to shareholders that the offer be accepted.
The deal comes amid a dry patch for mergers and acquisitions involving US equity due to US President Donald Trump's tariff policy, however KKR seems to be bucking that trend. The firm stuck another sizeable healthcare deal recently, agreeing to acquire E45 maker Karo Healthcare – also Stockholm-based – for €2.6bn ($3bn) earlier in April.
Biotage develops products used in drug discovery and development, including synthesisers, purification systems, and evaporators, amongst others. It also provides products for clinical and bioanalytical testing and toxicology.
KKR already owns a 17% stake in Biotage through Gamma Biosciences, a life sciences tool investment platform it created in 2019. It soon could have full ownership of a company that struggled financially in the past year.
Releasing its interim Q1 report on the same day, Biotage reported a sales decrease of nearly 20% compared to the same period in 2024. The life sciences group has previously highlighted the volatility within the bioprocessing market. Other big companies such as Merck's life science division MilliporeSigma has also felt the effects of the sector's low customer numbers.
Despite Biotage seeing stronger demand in the drug discovery segment and peptide system manufacturing, the company deemed KKR as having 'the potential to leverage its network of industrial advisers to accelerate the company's scale-up in a private setting in the years ahead.'
Although the board admitted it sees additional value held by Biotage that is not fully reflected in KKR's offer, it 'recognises that there are risks related thereto and the associated short-term volatility'.
Biotage's CEO Frederic Vanderhaegen said in a statement following the Q1 results: 'We remain confident in our future mid to long-term outlook while managing the short-term headwinds with a right-sized cost base.'
"KKR offers $1.2bn to buy Swedish life sciences group Biotage" was originally created and published by Pharmaceutical Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.
The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
31 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
US stocks drift closer to their record as Wall Street waits to see what US-China talks will bear
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks drifted closer to their all-time high on Tuesday as the wait continued to hear what will come of trade talks between the United States and China. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% as talks between the world's two largest economies carried into a second day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 105 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6%. Stocks have roared higher since dropping roughly 20% below their record two months ago, when President Donald Trump shocked financial markets with his announcement of tariffs that were so stiff that they raised worries about a possible recession. Much of the rally has been due to hopes that Trump would lower his tariffs after reaching trade deals with countries around the world, and the S&P 500 is back within 1.7% of its record set in February. It's getting to be time to see whether such hopes were warranted. The talks with China were going 'really, really well,' U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said Tuesday evening in London, where the talks were being held. The two sides worked on 'all sorts of trade issues,' he said, according to a video clip posted by the Chinese state broadcaster CGTN. Both the United States and China have put many of their tariffs announced against each other on pause as talks continue. Even though many tariffs are on hold for the moment, they're still affecting companies and their ability to make profits because of all the uncertainty they've created. Designer Brands, the company behind the DSW shoe store chain, became the latest U.S. company to yank its financial forecasts for 2025 because of 'uncertainty stemming primarily from global trade policies.' The company, which also owns the Keds, Jessica Simpson and other shoe brands, reported a larger loss for the start of the year than analysts were expecting, and its revenue also fell short of forecasts. CEO Doug Howe pointed to 'persistent instability and pressure on consumer discretionary' spending, and the company's stock tumbled 18.2%. The uncertainty is moving in both directions, to be sure. A survey released Tuesday of optimism among small U.S. businesses improved a bit in May. 'While the economy will continue to stumble along until the major sources of uncertainty are resolved, owners reported more positive expectations on business conditions and sales growth,' according to Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist at the National Federation of Independent Business. On Wall Street, J.M. Smucker fell 15.6% even though its results for the latest quarter topped analysts' expectations. Its revenue fell short of expectations, as did its forecast for profit in the upcoming year. Tesla helped to make up for such losses after rising 5.7%. The electric vehicle company has been recovering since tumbling last week as Elon Musk's relationship with Trump imploded. That raised fear about possible retaliation by the U.S. government against Tesla. Shares that trade in the United States of chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rose 2.6% after the company known as TSMC said its revenue in May jumped nearly 40% from the year earlier. Casey's General Stores leaped 11.6% after the chain of convenience stores based in Ankeny, Iowa, reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It credited strength in sales of hot sandwiches and other items. All told, the S&P 500 rose 32.93 points to 6,038.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 105.11 to 42,866.87, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 123.75 to 19,714.99. In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed amid mostly modest movements across Europe and Asia. A 0.8% drop for Germany's DAX and a 0.6% gain for South Korea's Kospi were two of the bigger moves. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.47% from 4.49% late Monday. Choe writes for the Associated Press.
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Afternoon Briefing: City could force Uber and Lyft to hike driver pay
Good afternoon, Chicago. Rideshare companies like Lyft and Uber could soon be forced to pay Chicago drivers more if an ordinance up for debate Thursday moves ahead, a change the companies say would cause the cost of rides to skyrocket for passengers. Ald. Michael Rodriguez, 22nd, said his measure would make sure rideshare drivers make more than minimum wage and get paid when they wait for and drive riders. But critics and the companies say the legislation will raise costs and could even put many drivers out of work. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History Federal prosecutors announced today that they will retry state Sen. Emil Jones III on bribery charges after a jury in April deadlocked on all counts, leading to a mistrial. Read more here. More top news stories: Lawyers for R. Kelly claim wrongdoing by prosecutors, say imprisoned singer's life in danger $23.5M lawsuit settlement reached for family of technical surveyor killed in fall from Hyde Park scaffolding Illinois lawmakers ended their spring legislative session without finding a way to plug the gaping $771 million budget gap facing the region's mass transit systems next year. Thousands of jobs hang in the balance. Read more here. More top business stories: Apple unveils iOS 26 and a new 'liquid glass' design I-65 fiery truck crashes ignite conversation about tolling, expanding highway The longtime Sky star jokingly acknowledged her quiet exit in a Players Tribune column today as she formally announced her retirement from the WNBA — nearly three years after playing her final game for the Sky in September 2022. Read more here. More top sports stories: Column: Why Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong is content with just being himself How Chicago White Sox's Luis Robert Jr. is working to get going at the plate: 'I'm open to the suggestions' Anthony Mateos, who lives in Evanston and has just completed his junior year at Evanston Township High School, has compiled and published a terrific book titled 'Who We Are: Stories From the Chicago StreetWise Community.' Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: Steve Carell will speak at Northwestern University's 2025 commencement Sly Stone, leader of funk revolutionaries Sly and the Family Stone, dies at 82 The Marines that deployed to Los Angeles on orders from President Donald Trump have not yet been called to respond to the city's immigration protests and are there only to protect federal property, the Marine Corps commandant said. Read more here. More top stories from around the world: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces sharp questions from Congress on deploying troops to Los Angles and Pentagon chaos President Donald Trump pushes ahead with his maximalist immigration campaign in face of LA protests
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
World's most powerful ex-New Yorker gets a DC military parade, not a ticker-tape celebration in Manhattan's Canyon of Heroes
Donald Trump's plan for a military parade on June 14, 2025, officially to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army as well as coinciding with the president's 79th birthday, is yet another indication of his affinity for authoritarian leaders and regimes. Although the parade, which will include 6,000 soldiers, 150 military vehicles and 50 helicopters − and will temporarily close Reagan National Airport and cost more than US$45 million − is ostensibly to celebrate the military, the idea is pure Trump. When pressed about his desire for the parade, the president has explained his reasoning for having the parade. 'We had more to do with winning World War II than any other nation. Why don't we have a Victory Day? So we're going to have a Victory Day for World War I and for World War II.' While big military parades in Washington, D.C., other than immediately following a major military victory, are largely without precedent, there is another American city that has a much richer tradition of parades. That city is New York. New York is a parade town. It's also a city with which Trump has a long, complex relationship. Trump was born in New York and began his business career there. Before Trump was a politician, or even a reality TV star, he was a fixture in the New York tabloids. His marriages, divorces, dating life and business successes and failures were splashed across more headlines than can be easily counted beginning in the early 1980s, but Trump was always presented as a clownish figure, albeit a very rich one. In those years, continuing into the first decade of this century, the local media always presented him as gaudy, loud and not quite as business savvy as he claimed – hence the coverage of his bankruptcies. While much of the rest of the country bought the Trump narrative that he was a brilliant businessman surrounded by beautiful women, doting staff and fawning celebrities, many New Yorkers never did. New Yorkers, including me, remembered an earlier Trump who almost ran the family business into the ground over many years. Nonetheless, New York has always been important to Trump. Although he still is a well-done steak with ketchup kind of guy, while New York is a soup dumplings, or bagels and lox, or arroz con pollo, or even caviar kind of town, Trump still has a connection to this city and wants to be celebrated here. And the city celebrates with big parades honoring everything from sports championships, which used to be much more common for New York teams, to the U.S. winning wars, most recently following the first Gulf War in 1991. Additionally, New York has parades for many of the hundreds of ethnic groups that make up the city. For decades on Thanksgiving Day, as they roast their turkey, prepare the stuffing and finalize preparations for the traditional feast, millions of Americans have watched the Thanksgiving parade, which is always held in Manhattan, frequently referred to as the Macy's Day parade because Macy's has long sponsored the event. In many of New York City's legendary parades, including those celebrating LGBTQ+ pride, the Puerto Rican Day Parade, St. Patrick's Day, West Indian American Day and others, politicians march, often in the lead, alongside their constituents. Some, like the Thanksgiving parade, have their own rituals, such as watching the balloons being inflated behind the American Museum of Natural History on the evening before Thanksgiving. However, the most famous of all parade types in New York is the ticker-tape parade. Dating from the days when paper, not computers, dominated trading floors and offices, people would throw ticker tape and other papers out their windows as the parade passed through the Financial District area that became known as the Canyon of Heroes. Not all New York parades are the same. Some, like the Thanksgiving parade, are simply fun and celebratory. Ticker-tape parades honor individuals or groups that have accomplished something significant, like landing on the Moon or winning the Super Bowl. They can recognize important foreign guests and dignitaries, while other parades celebrate the contributions of various peoples or groups of New Yorkers. But New Yorkers never throw parades for their politicians and tend to favor drums and floats rather than tanks and soldiers at these events. While there are parades for all kinds of people and events in New York, there has never been a parade there for Donald Trump. There was a pretty massive street party in the city when it was announced that Trump had lost the 2020 election. Although Trump changed his primary residence to Florida in 2019, Trump was a New Yorker for many years and like many longtime residents had the chance to see many heroes – Mickey Mantle, John Glenn, Tom Seaver, Derek Jeter, Eli Manning, Nelson Mandela, American war veterans, numerous foreign leaders and many others – feted with a parade down the Canyon of Heroes. Jeter was celebrated five times, John Glenn and Mickey Mantle twice. It is impossible to know Trump's motivations for pushing the parade in the nation's capital. But we also know that he is a man who holds himself in high regard and craves attention. Trump will likely never get a parade in his erstwhile hometown, so Washington must be the next best thing. Trump's newfound parade fetish underscores his love-hate relationship with New York. New York is the city that made him famous and made his family, primarily because of his father's work, very rich. It is also the city that has repeatedly rejected Trump. It is the home of some of his worst real estate deals, the place where the business community lost patience with his antics and unwillingness to pay contractors, and where three times the voters turned out in huge numbers against him. A Washington, D.C., parade celebrating an unappreciated New Yorker who years ago decamped to Florida and Washington is a pale imitation of the Canyon of Heroes, where New Yorkers honor beloved leaders, war heroes, explorers and their favorite sports stars. But it is all Trump has. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Lincoln Mitchell, Columbia University Read more: NYC's 'Eric Adams Show' heads for a final curtain, with echoes of another New Yorker more focused on style than policy 12 New Yorkers convicted Trump − but he never fully fit in to New York City Saying a final goodbye to Willie Mays, baseball's 'Say hey kid' Lincoln Mitchell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
