ATLANTA—
Sciele Pharma Inc. recently reached an agreement to acquire
Alliant Pharmaceuticals Inc., a privately held pediatric specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in Alpharetta, Ga., in a deal under which Sciele will pay $122 million in cash. In turn, Alliant Pharmaceuticals is expected to generate revenues of approximately $50 million to $60 million for the full-year 2007 for Sciele.
The purchase price includes approximately $12 million in indebtedness to be paid at closing. The agreement also includes potential payments of as much as $55 million based on meeting certain profit targets and product development targets for Alliant's products. The acquisition is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2007.
Alliant has a field force of approximately 85 people, who reportedly will be retained by Sciele and will form Sciele's new pediatric sales division. Up to this point, sales, marketing and product development at Sciele has focused on cardiovascular disease, diabetes and women's health.
In addition to the revenues in 2007 and beyond, Sciele gains other advantages from the acquisition, including a diversification and strategic expansion into pediatrics; well-recognized branded pediatric prescription products with growth potential; a solid base of unique or patent-protected products; and product pipeline opportunities through life-cycle management, particularly with Alliant's Rondec products.
"The acquisition of Alliant gives Sciele a much larger presence in pediatrics, a therapeutic area in which we are involved with our Furadantin product, and will enable us to maximize the potential of glycopyrrolate, a Sciele product that is in pivotal P hase III clinical trials for pediatric chronic, moderate-to-severe drooling," says Patrick Fourteau, Sciele's CEO and president. "We have known Alliant since its inception, and we believe the integration between the two companies will be straightforward as we both have similar pay-for-performance models with an emphasis on speed of execution."
He expects the acquisition to be an excellent revenue and earnings growth opportunity for Sciele, and says the deal meets "our disciplined investment parameters of doing acquisitions that are accretive to earnings in the near term."
The deal also means opportunities for Alliant, notes the company's CEO and president, Mark Pugh. "[We] believe that combining the strengths of Alliant and Sciele will enable us to accelerate growth of our existing product line and enable us to more rapidly pursue product development opportunities, utilizing the financial strength of Sciele."
Alliant's pediatric product portfolio includes: Orapred and Orapred ODT for asthma; Allegra Oral Suspension for allergies; Methylin Oral Solution and Methylin Chewable Tablets for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); Lindane for head lice and scabies; and Rondec Syrup and Rondec DM Oral Drops for allergies, coughs and colds.
