3i buys Alpharma’s Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients

3i, a London-listed private equity firm, has acquired Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, a Norway-based specialist active pharmaceutical ingredients business, for US$395m.

Merrill Lynch, Linklaters, PwC, Marsh and ERM advised 3i, with debt facilities provided by GE, Calyon Credit Agricole CIB, Danske Bank, European Capital and HSH Nordbank.

Oslo-based Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, a division of NYSE-listed Alpharma, supplies active ingredients and finished dosage forms in antibiotic products.

The business has manufacturing facilities in Copenhagen, Oslo, Budapest and Taizhou in China, employs 700 staff and generated approximately US$138.7m in revenues in the first nine months of 2007.

3i industrialist in residence Peter Chambré has been appointed as a non-executive chairman to the company. 3i’s track record in pharmaceuticals includes Betapharm, sold in 2006 to India’s Dr Reddy’s Labs, and Domantis, sold to GlaxoSmithKline, also in 2006.