Munich-based chemical group WACKER has acquired 100 percent of the shares in contract manufacturer ADL BioPharma from financial investor Kartesia. WACKER and Kartesia signed an agreement to complete the transaction last week. After WACKER took over fermentation plants in León, northern Spain, back in 2016, the chemical company now owns the entire site.
With the acquisition of the company, which employs around 300 people, WACKER acquires fermentation capacities of around 2,000 cubic meters (gross volume) as well as additional capacities for recovery and purification processes. WACKER will continue and expand ADL BioPharma's existing customer relationships as a contract manufacturer (CMO) for products manufactured by fermentation for the food, pharmaceutical and consumer goods industries. The purchase price for the acquisition is more than 100 million euros.
"The acquisition of ADL BioPharma is an important step for the further growth of our biotechnology business, with which we want to achieve sales of one billion euros in 2030," says WACKER CEO Christian Hartel, explaining the investment. “ADL BioPharma has developed very well in recent years and has seen strong sales growth. With additional fermentation capacities, we are creating the basis for further growth in the area of sustainably produced food ingredients. With WACKER's technological expertise and the capacities of ADL BioPharma, we are positioning ourselves as a strong player in this growth market."
ADL BioPharma has developed very well in recent years and has seen strong sales growth
WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS, the life sciences division of the WACKER Group, has been operating fermentation plants at the León site for seven years. In 2016, WACKER acquired a production plant there with a fermentation capacity of 800 cubic meters (gross volume) from ADL BioPharma. Since then, WACKER has been producing fermented cystine in León and offering services as a contract manufacturer. Since the takeover, the Munich chemical group has modernised the existing facilities and invested in additional production equipment. In addition, around 60 new jobs were created at the site. The number of employees has thus quadrupled.
With the takeover of ADL BioPharma, WACKER is now the owner of the entire plant with a total fermentation capacity of almost 3,000 cubic meters (gross volume). Susanne Leonhartsberger, who heads the WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS division, explains WACKER's plans for the site. “ADL BioPharma's CMO business fits very well into our portfolio. The company has extensive and extremely important customer relationships, which we will continue to pursue and expand. We will integrate these activities into our WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS division, where we produce, among other things, sustainable ingredients for the food and dietary supplement industry,” says Leonhartsberger. “Here we see growth opportunities for the León site in the coming years.
