Amneal, Impax to merge

BRIDGEWATER, N.J., and HAYWARD, Calif. — In a move that will turn two players into the fifth-largest generics business in the United States, Amneal Pharmaceuticals and Impax Laboratories on Tuesday announced their plan to merge in an all-stock transaction. The combined company, which will be named Amneal Pharmaceuticals, will have a generics portfolio of roughly 165 product families with 150 pending applications before the Food and Drug Administration.

“In the 15 years since our family founded Amneal, we have established the company as a leader in the U.S. generic pharmaceuticals industry, and today marks an important milestone in these efforts,” Amneal co-CEO and co-chairman Chirag Patel said. “This transaction combines the complementary strengths of both Amneal and Impax to create an even stronger company with the diversification, capabilities and resources to deliver enhanced value for patients, new opportunities for our collective employees and increased growth and value creation for shareholders.”

The combined company, which will be 25%-owned by current Impax shareholders, is expected to create double-digit improvements in revenue and adjusted earnings per share over the first three years following the close of the transaction, and cost savings of roughly $200 million in the same time frame.

At the helm will be Amneal’s Chirag and Chintu Patel, who will serve as co-chairmen of the combined company’s board of directors, as well as Impax president and CEO Paul Bisaro, who will assume the role of CEO of the combined company. Impax’s SVP finance and CFO Bryan Reasons will become CFO of the new company, which will have roughly 6,500 employees.

The companies expect that their merger will bring high-quality research and development capabilities to the combined company, as well as strengthened global supply chain capabilities and a growing specialty franchise from Impax, whose treatments for central nervous system disorders include Rytary, Zomig and Emverm.

“We are excited to join with Impax to create one of the most dynamic companies in the pharmaceutical industry,” current Amneal co-CEO and co-chairman Chintu Patel said. “This combination will help us achieve our long-term goals of providing greater access to safe and affordable medicine for people around the world, while also positioning us for continued success.”

The companies expect the transaction to close in the first half of 2018, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.