September 8, 2015
By 
Mark Terry
, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Canadian company 
Concordia Healthcare
 , headquartered in Oakville, Ontario, 
announced
 today that it is buying 
Amdipharm Mercury Limited
(AMCo)
 from 
Cinven
 for $3.5 billion. 
Cinven
 is a European private equity firm. The deal will be a combination of cash, common shares of 
Concordia
, and a performance-based earn-out payable in cash. 
“This acquisition is a key milestone and pivotal turning point in 
Concordia
’s strategy, which gives us the platform to take our business to the next level,” said 
Mark Thompson
, 
Concordia
’s chairman and chief executive officer in a statement. “We are not only acquiring products and commercial infrastructure, but a seasoned management team who has done a fantastic job of building a solid and successful international pharma operation. The combination of our highly complementary yet geographically diverse business is truly transformational.” 
Amphidarm
 has a portfolio of more than 190 drugs in the areas of endocrinology, opthalmology and urology. When the 
deal closes
 in the fourth quarter of 2015, 
Cinven
 will hold 19.9 percent of 
Concordia
’s shares. 
Concordia
 will expand its market to more than 100 countries. 
Amdipharm
, headquartered in London, was the result of 
a merger
 between 
Amdipharm
 and the 
Mercury Pharma Group
. 
Cinven
 originally bought both in 2012 and merged the two companies a year later. It markets niche drugs under the brands 
Amdipharm
, 
Mercury Pharma
, 
Abcur
 and 
Focus
. In 2014 it reported revenue of about $446 million. 
Concordia
 focuses on legacy pharmaceutical products and orphan drugs. It markets Nilandron for prostate cancer, Lanoxin for mild-to-moderate heart failure, and Zonegran, for partial seizures in epilepsy. The company’s fiscal year ends in March. It reported $122.2 million in revenue for the 2015 fiscal year.
Concordia
 owns 
Concordia Pharmaceuticals Inc.
, U.S.-based 
Pinnacle Biologics Inc.
 and 
Complete Medical Homecare Inc.
, which focuses on home delivery of diabetic supplies, diabetic shoes and inserts, insulin pumps and diabetes drugs. 
In its 
second quarter financial reporting
 on Aug. 13, 
Concordia Healthcare
 noted it had completed the acquisition of 
Covis Pharma
 and 
Covis Injectables
 for $1.2 billion. That acquisition included a portfolio of 12 branded products, 5 generic products and a product distributed by a third party in Australia. 
“We are on track to achieving our targets, and have already exceeded our 2014 EBITDA levels within the first six months of this year,” said Thompson in a statement. “Our newly acquired Covis assets delivered impressive results this quarter, contributing almost $40 million to our top line with approximately ten weeks of consolidated sales. We believe these high-margin, branded pharmaceuticals and authorized generics, which address life threatening and other serious medical conditions, have room for continued growth.” 
The acquisition of 
AMCo
 is being conducted with the assistance of 
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
, 
Credit Suisse
, 
RBC Capital Markets
 and 
Jefferies and Co.
. They have agreed to provide credit facilities and bridge commitments up to $4.3 billion (U.S.). The breakdown of the deal is $1.2 billion (U.S.) in total, with 8.49 million shares of 
Concordia
 stock worth approximately $0.7 billion (U.S.) and the assumption of about $1.4 billion (U.S.) 
AmCo
 net debt. There will be a maximum performance-based earn-out of about $220 million (U.S.) in the fourth quarter of 2016.