ZURICH (Reuters) – Investment group EQT and members of the Struengmann family, who are investors in Biontech, are considering a joint bid for Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis’s generics division Sandoz, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources.
A potential offer could value Sandoz at more than 20 billion Swiss francs ($21.58 billion), the newspaper reported.
Novartis in October raised the prospect of divesting Sandoz after years of revamping the business, as price pressures mount in the off-patent drug sector.
It said at the time it had begun a strategic review which would “explore all options, ranging from retaining the business to separation, in order to determine how to best maximize value for our shareholders”.
The Struengmann family and EQT, who have already made several joint investments, were looking to bring further investors on board as a consortia for a potential deal, Handelsblatt reported.
EQT declined comment. Novartis did not immediately respond to requests by phone and email for comment.
The Swiss drugmaker in 2019 spun off its eyecare division Alcon, marking the largest Swiss stock deal in a decade when it made its debut with a market capitalisation of more than $25 billion.
($1 = 0.9268 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi and Oliver Hirt, Editing by Riham Alkousaa and Michael Shields)
