Gerresheimer Glas acquires Bormioli Pharma’s holding company to strengthen its glass packaging sector

Gerresheimer Glas, an indirect subsidiary of Gerresheimer, has signed a purchase agreement to acquire Blitz LuxCo Sarl, the holding company of Bormioli Pharma Group.

With the acquisition, Gerresheimer says it strengthens its European footprint with additional production sites, especially in Southern Europe. It furthermore fosters its market position as a “leading” full-service provider and global partner for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

“With this transaction, we are putting an exclamation mark on our growth ambitions,” says Dietmar Siemssen, Gerresheimer’s CEO.

“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 in terms of product portfolio and regional coverage with production sites in Europe.”

The purchase price is based on a determined enterprise value of around €800 million (US$867 million), corresponding to an adjusted EBITDA multiple of around 10. Bormioli Pharma has nine production sites in Europe.

The group generates approximately €370 million (US$400 million) in revenues and an adjusted EBITDA margin of around 21%. Bormioli Pharma has a portfolio of pharmaceutical primary packaging made of glass and plastic, containing closure solutions, accessories and dispensing systems.

Pharma packaging expansion
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 Q4 of this financial year.

“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, Bormioli Pharma Group’s CEO, 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 and product offering. We thank the Triton team for its support and look forward to our next chapter of growth with Gerresheimer.”

New business unit
Like Gerresheimer, Bormioli Pharma has achieved double-digit profitable growth in recent years and counts leading pharmaceutical companies among its customers.

The acquisition is expected to generate synergies of 3–5% of the company’s sales in the near and medium term.

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.

Furthermore, the acquisition of Bormioli Pharma accelerates Gerresheimer’s transformation into a system and solutions provider as part of the formula G corporate strategy. In the future, Gerresheimer highlights it 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.

The acquisition will create a new Moulded Glass business unit with new options for a strategic reset for best growth prospects and competitiveness. The combined molded glass business would generate pro forma sales of around €750 million (US$814 million) in 2024 with an EBITDA margin of around 21% before synergies.