ICG Nears $1.2 Billion Deal for Italy's Doc Generici

(Bloomberg) -- British buyout firm Intermediate Capital Group Plc is nearing a deal to buy Italian generic drugmaker Doc Generici from CVC Capital Partners for about 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion), according to people familiar with the matter.

Talks are in the final stages, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. The deal is expected to be announced as soon as Thursday, said the people.

CVC bought Doc Generici in 2016 from buyout firm Charterhouse Capital Partners for an undisclosed amount. Founded in 1996, Milan-based Doc Generici counts a wide portfolio of generic drugs in areas such as cardiovascular and gastrointestinal and metabolic conditions, according to its website.

Representatives for ICG, as London-based Intermediate Capital Group is known, and CVC declined to comment.

Founded in 1989, ICG had about 35.2 billion euros of assets under management as of the end of December, according to its website. The company counts almost 300 people in 14 locations around the world. Its shares have climbed 19 percent this year, valuing the company at 3.2 billion pounds, though they were down 1.7 percent early Thursday in London.

The volume of deals in the health-care industry globally this year, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices and services companies, has climbed almost 15 percent to $186.5 billion from a year earlier, according to Bloomberg data. That includes Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s $74 billion takeover of Celgene Corp., the biggest deal so far this year globally.

To contact the reporters on this story: Manuel Baigorri in Hong Kong at mbaigorri@bloomberg.net;Sarah Syed in London at ssyed35@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fion Li at fli59@bloomberg.net, Timothy Sifert, Eric Pfanner

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