Patheon acquires Banner, raises $650-million

North Carolina-based Banner Pharmacaps was founded in 1994. The company’s products, such as Soflet® Gelcaps and LiquiSoft™, are chewable liquid filled softgels that are used by major brands such as Advil, Aleve, and Excedrin.Patheon (TSX:PTI) this morning announced it had acquired Banner Pharmacaps, a specialty pharmaceutical maker that manufactures gelatin-based dosage forms.

North Carolina-based Banner was founded in 1994. The company’s products, such as Soflet® Gelcaps and LiquiSoft™, are chewable liquid filled softgels that are used by major brands such as Advil, Aleve, and Excedrin.

Patheon CFO Stuart Grant said today’s news was part of bigger-picture improvements: “We are excited about the acquisition of Banner and the refinancing of the company,” he said, adding: “We expect the improvements to our capital structure as a result of the refinancing to reinforce operating flexibility and liquidity as we continue to execute against our strategic goals.”

In conjunction with the acquisition, Banner announced it was raising $650-million, comprised of a $565-million debt financing backed by Morgan Stanley, UBS, Credit Suisse and KeyBank and a $85-million revolving facility.

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The company says it will use the money to buy back existing senior secured notes, repay borrowings outstanding under its existing revolving credit facility, pay fees and expenses associated with the transactions, and for general corporate purposes.

Durham, North Carolina based Patheon was founded in 1974 in Burlington, Ontario. The company, which is contract manufacturer of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, operates three facilities in the US, three in Canada and four in Europe, where it delivers solid, semi-solid, liquid, and sterile dosage forms to clients such as Merck and Janssen-Cilag, an affiliate of Johnson & Johnson.

At press time, shares of Patheon were down .8% to $3.80.

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