Kent Pharmaceuticals – Britain’s largest independent generic pharmaceuticals manufacturer and leading wholesaler – has been sold to DCC Healthcare for £58 million.
Kent is active in the development, manufacture, sales, marketing and distribution of generic pharmaceutical products for the British, Irish and international markets, and houses over 100 own-label products, including the veteran antibiotics penicillin V, flucloxacillin and amoxicillin.
Irish group DCC Healthcare comprises DCC Vital (formerly Hospital Supplies & Services), which provides sales, marketing, distribution and other services to medical device and pharma companies in the Irish and British hospital and homecare markets, as well as DCC Health & Beauty Solutions.
The group plans to combine Kent, which has just over 300 employees, with its healthcare division to create a pharmaceuticals business with aggregate revenues nearing 130 million euros, according to law firm Brachers, who helped oversee the deal.
“The sale to DCC provides a fantastic opportunity to continue the growth and development of Kent Pharmaceuticals,” commented Michael Overy, managing director of the Ashtead, Kent-based firm.
Following the acquisition, which has now completed, DDC reportedly plans to delist itself from the Irish Stock Exchange in order to get onto the FTSE Index of the London Stock Exchange.
