BC Partners agrees to sell majority stake in Synthon to Goldman Sachs Alternatives
- Under BC Partners’ active ownership, Synthon has expanded rapidly, more than doubling EBITDA
- Transaction maintains BC Partners’ momentum in realisations, generating c.€13bn in monetisations over the past 18 months, and c.€9bn in 2024
BC Partners, a leading international investment firm, and Goldman Sachs Alternatives today announced that they have entered into an agreement under which the Private Equity business at Goldman Sachs Alternatives will acquire a majority stake in Synthon, a leading international pharmaceutical company, from funds advised by BC Partners. BC Partners will retain a minority stake in Synthon to support future growth. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
BC Partners acquired its majority stake in Synthon from the company’s founders in 2019 through a bilateral transaction. Leveraging its significant pharmaceutical and generic drugs sector expertise – gained through prior investments such as Pharmathen – BC Partners, together with the management, was able to drive significant organic growth and geographic expansion with a focus on commercial excellence, R&D, technology differentiation, and operational excellence. Since the initial investment five years ago, Synthon has more than doubled EBITDA and cemented its leading position in the sector.
Mark Hersee, Partner and Co-Head of Healthcare at BC Partners, said: “Synthon is a fantastic business and it has been a pleasure to partner with Anish and the rest of the team since we first invested in 2019. During our ownership we have heavily invested in additional complex technologies, expanded manufacturing capabilities, and strengthened the team to enter new geographies, all building on the great work of the Founders. We see great potential for Synthon, and it is for that reason we are delighted to partner with the Goldman Sachs Alternatives team in continuing to grow and expand the business.”
Anish Mehta, Synthon CEO, said: “The journey over the last few years with BC Partners has been an exciting one – and we thank them for their support and collaboration. They have been an important strategic partner for Synthon and the management team as we transformed the business into a best-in-class, high-growth development company. Working together to identify opportunities, we made significant strategic investments to accelerate our growth, improve our operational network and advance our R&D platforms and capabilities for increasingly complex generics. As we look to the next phase of our growth journey, we are excited to be partnering with Goldman Sachs Alternatives, and continuing to work with BC. The network, expertise and combined resources of both firms will be a key enabler for our continued growth and success in the coming years.”
Adam Dawson, Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Healthcare Private Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, said: "We look forward to collaborating with management to drive value creation through product and pipeline development and operational excellence initiatives as well as execute on our joint vision to strengthen Synthon’s global impact. Synthon’s track record and expertise in complex drug development, intellectual property formation, and manufacturing position it well to capture the secular growth of generic medicines and increase access to affordable medicines for patients globally."
Michael Bruun, Partner and Global Co-Head of Private Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, said: “We have keenly followed Synthon’s trajectory for many years and see tremendous opportunities for future growth. We are thrilled to partner with BC Partners and Synthon’s management. We look forward to supporting management with the Goldman Sachs network and value acceleration resources."
With this transaction, BC Partners has generated c.€13bn in proceeds over the past 18 months, delivering c.€9bn in 2024 alone. These monetisations demonstrate the high quality of businesses and exit optionality which underpin BC Partners’ portfolio and position in the market. Recent monetisations include the exit of Forno d’Asolo Group, IMA Industria Macchine Automatiche SpA, Presidio and GardaWorld as well as the successful listing of Springer Nature on the Frankfurt Exchange in October 2024.
BC Partners was advised by Rothschild & Co, Barclays, Latham & Watkins, and PwC.
The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in Q2 2025.
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About BC Partners BC Partners is a leading investment firm with circa €40 billion in assets under management across private equity, private debt, and real estate strategies. Established in 1986, BC Partners has played an active role for over three decades in developing the European buy-out market. Today BC Partners integrated transatlantic investment teams work from offices in Europe and North America and are aligned across our four core sectors: TMT, Healthcare, Services & Industrials, and Consumer. Since its foundation, BC Partners has completed over 128 private equity investments in companies with a total enterprise value of over €160 billion and is currently investing its eleventh private equity buyout fund. For further information, please visit https://www.bcpartners.com/
About Synthon Synthon is a vertically integrated, global leader in the development and manufacturing of complex generics. For over three decades, the Company has established a proven track record of launching IP differentiated, complex products at market formation. Synthon has a global footprint with direct presence in eight countries, including four R&D labs as well as four manufacturing sites located in Spain, Czech Republic, Argentina, and Chile. The Company is headquartered in the Netherlands and has approximately 1,600 employees. With a portfolio of over 70 molecules, and diversified base of more than 200 customers serving around 100 countries, Synthon is delivering on its mission of Enabling Affordable Medicines Globally. Follow us on LinkedIn. For further information, please visit https://www.synthon.com/