Concordia Healthcare falls after completing AMCo acquisition

Shares of Concordia Healthcare (TSX:CXR) are under pressure today after the company announced it had completed the $3.5-billion acquisition of Amdipharm Mercury Ltd. (AMCo) from Cinven, a European private equity firm.

Concordia completed the deal in part by strapping on (U.S.) $2.82 billion in new debt and raising $520 million in a public equity offering. The company now has a net debt position of $3.48-billion.

CEO Mark Thompson, who will appear on BNN today at 12:20 EST to address the slide in the company’s shares, was upbeat.

“This is a tremendous milestone for Concordia. This acquisition has transformed us from a predominantly U.S. business to a leading, international pharmaceutical company,” said Thompson. “We now have a combined portfolio of more than 200 established products and an extensive geographic platform that spans over 100 countries. This combination creates a powerful global platform for our continued organic growth and significantly diversifies our business, while generating strong free cash flows to pay down our current debt and reinvest in the continued growth of our business.”

Concordia estimates that about 88% of the revenue of AMCo’s top 20 products has two or fewer competitors, and thinks the combined businesses will drive “high single-digit” revenue growth.

Oakville-based Concordia has a large stable of products, including Nilandron, for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer, Dibenzyline, for the treatment of pheochromocytoma, Lanoxin, for the treatment of mild-to-moderate heart failure and atrial fibrillation; Plaquenil, for the treatment of lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, and Donnatal, for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.

Today’s action marks the second time in recent weeks that Concordia’s stock has been hammered. In late September, shares of the company fell sharply as U.S. presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton vowed to fight high drug prices in the wake of the Turing Pharmaceuticals scandal.

At press time, shares of Concordia Healthcare were down 18.8% to $28.69.

About The Author / Nick Waddell

Cantech Letter founder and editor Nick Waddell has lived in five Canadian provinces and is proud of his country's often overlooked contributions to the world of science and technology. Waddell takes a regular shift on the Canadian media circuit, making appearances on CTV, CBC and BNN, and contributing to publications such as Canadian Business and Business Insider.

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One thought on “Concordia Healthcare falls after completing AMCo acquisition”

Ralphael says:

October 21, 2015 at 1:25 pm

Thank you Hillary…….you have made a lot of Biotech & Pharma stocks buyable now……if you were much younger looking I might kiss you……at the moment NO WAY JOSE.

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