Warburg makes 9x return on Zentiva

Warburg Pincus has completed its exit from Czech pharma company Zentiva by selling its remaining shares to Sanofi-Aventis for approximately €430.3m. The sale of its remaining 19.6% stake means overall Warburg made a 9x return, generating a total of US$1.2bn from its US$125m investment.

Warburg made its first investment in May 1998, when it took an interest of almost 70% in Leciva, which was privatised just a few months earlier. In August 2003 the company merged with Slovakofarama and began operating under the name Zentiva.

Following the IPO, Warburg held a 54% stake and has been selling its shares. Zentiva’s management sold 4.5% of its shares and now owns approximately 5.9%, leaving Sanofi-Aventis the majority shareholder with 25%.