AMRI acquires Excelsyn
US-based Albany Molecular Research (AMRI) has acquired chemical development and manufacturing services provider Excelsyn, of Holywell, UK, for US$19m, giving the company an immediate presence in the European manufacturing sector and a greatly expanded European customer base.
US-based Albany Molecular Research (AMRI)has acquired chemical development and manufacturing services provider Excelsyn, of Holywell, UK, for US$19m, giving the company an immediate presence in the European manufacturing sector and a greatly expanded European customer base.
Excelsyn provides development and large scale manufacturing services to large pharmaceutical, speciality pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers throughout Europe, Asia and North America. Manufacturing services include pre-clinical and Phase I - III product development as well as commercial manufacturing services for approved products. It has 60 employees and generated revenue of $15m in 2009.
The acquisition of Excelsyn expands AMRI's portfolio of development and large scale manufacturing facilities as well as its customer portfolio, with little overlap of customers between the two companies. The 14-acre Excelsyn site contains kilo lab, pilot plant and large scale manufacturing capabilities.
Under the terms of the agreement, AMRI has purchased all of the outstanding shares of Excelsyn for approximately $19m in cash. Besides gaining an expanded presence in Europe and the UK, AMRI gains a significant cost competitive option for conducting development/manufacturing work, particularly in the production of chemical intermediates.
'We believe this acquisition will increase our ability to penetrate a market space relatively untapped to date, including customers in large pharma based in Europe ,' said AMRI chairman and ceo Dr Thomas E. D'Ambra. 'This acquisition also enhances our ability to offer lower cost solutions at a time when cost has been become a major factor in outsourcing decisions being made, particularly in the large pharmaceutical sector.'
Excelsyn ceo Ian Shott said: 'We are excited to be joining the AMRI team. The similarities in both operations and company cultures create an even more compelling reason for our customers to continue to partner with the combined organisation as their outsourcing provider of choice. We can now offer the expanded technologies, locations and cost structures that make AMRI the leader in the provision of integrated contract outsourcing.'
The Holywell site will be managed by Dr David Rowles as general manager, Holywell Operations. He has been chief operating officer at the site since it became Excelsyn in 2004. Shott has accepted a consulting relationship and will continue to assist with customer relationships for the UK site and also work with AMRI's business development team to build further relationships for all of AMRI's locations with potential customers in Europe. The Excelsyn name will disappear and the enlarged company will operate under the AMRI name.
According to Steve Jennings, senior vice president sales, marketing and business development, the deal is a result of research that showed low awareness of AMRI in Europe and highlighted a need for small-scale manufacturing and development facilities. Not only was there little overlap of the customer base with Excelsyn, the companies' cultures and values were a very close fit, he said.
Excelsyn is a very 'lean' operation and will enable AMRI to become more competitive, while at the same time Excelsyn will gain the critical mass necessary to exploit customer relationships more fully and move into strategic supply, Jennings added.
