Cheplapharm AG, an international platform for branded medicines, has announced raising €550 million (about $543 million) in structured investment from Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and Atlantic Park.
Atlantic Park is a joint venture between global growth equity firm General Atlantic and credit-focused asset manager Iron Park Capital Partners.
According to the announcement, the investment from GIC and Atlantic Park will be in the form of a subordinated convertible instrument that will mandatorily convert into ordinary shares of Cheplapharm AG.
Headquartered in Germany, Cheplapharm has established a platform for specialty pharma during the past two decades. On its website, the company said it invests globally in established pharmaceutical brands developed by research-based pharma companies.
In 2021, Chelapharm reached a revenue level above the €1 billion mark for the first time. The company’s EBITDA also increased by 86% to €624 million with EBITDA and gross profit margins amounting to 58% and 75%, respectively, per the announcement.
The company said the fresh investment will diversify its financial base and help fuel its next phase of growth.
“Their (GIC and Atlantic Park) commitment underpins the strength and resilience of our business, enabling us to seize the investment opportunities ahead of us,” said CEO and founder Sebastian Braun.
GIC is not new to pharma investments. Last year, it agreed to invest around $1 billion in Biomat, a US-based plasma collection company owned by Grifols, thus becoming a strategic investor in the Spanish pharmaceutical company.
“We are confident in the long-term potential of Cheplapharm thanks to its broad and diversified product portfolio, strong integration capabilities, as well as continued growth from acquisitions,” said Arjun Khullar, head of GIC’s Integrated Services Group.
GIC is ranked as the world’s fifth-biggest sovereign investor with $690 billion in assets, according to research firm Global SWF. The fund has said its assets are worth more than $100 billion.
GIC said it had achieved an annualised real rate of return of 4.2% over the 20-year period ending March 31, 2022. Its annualised nominal return was 7% for the past two decades, per its 2021-22 report.