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Stada Picks IPO Bookrunners, Eyes Kickoff Early Next Year

Pills in the hand of a worker in the quality control laboratory at the Stada Arzneimittel AG factory in Bad Vilbel, Germany, on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. Stada is seeking to bolster its pipeline ahead of a potential sale or listing of the pharmaceutical company by its private equity owners. (Alex Kraus/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Stada Arzneimittel AG’s private equity owners have selected bookrunners for a potential initial public offering of the consumer health-focused drugmaker with plans to launch the deal early next year, according to people familiar with the matter.

Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc have been added to help with arranging the potential share sale in Germany, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. and UBS Group AG are also part of the bookrunner lineup, the people said. Stada could be valued at €10 billion ($11 billion) or more in a listing, the people said.

Bain Capital and Cinven, the buyout firms that own Stada, have been encouraged by the recent market rally and are considering filing the so-called intention to float document for Stada early next year, the people said. The private equity firms shifted their focus to an IPO after negotiations over a sale of Stada to rival investment firm GTCR cooled.

Deutsche Bank AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. were added as global coordinators, joining JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley in the top roles leading the potential IPO, Bloomberg News has reported.

Deliberations are ongoing and details of the IPO including timeline could still change, the people said. Representatives for Bain, Barclays, Citi, Cinven, HSBC, Jefferies, Stada and UBS declined to comment.

A growing number of German firms are gearing up to go public in the coming months despite worries over Europe’s largest economy, as pressure builds on buyout groups and corporations to realize value for investors. An IPO of Stada would rank as one of the biggest health-care transactions in Europe in recent years and cap a prolonged effort by Bain and Cinven to pursue a sale or listing of the business.

Online car-parts dealer Autodoc SE, backed by Apollo Global Management Inc., has hired advisers for a fresh attempt to list in Frankfurt next year, Bloomberg News has reported. Springer Nature AG, a publisher of academic journals backed by BC Partners, completed its €522 million German IPO last month. The stock has risen about 10% since its debut.

Stada manufactures and sells a range of products such as consumer health-care items, generic drugs and specialty medication for rare and chronic diseases. Its brands include Grippostad, which helps treat colds and flu infections, and Hirudoid cream for bruises and hematoma.

Bain and Cinven agreed to buy Stada for €5.3 billion in 2017, a deal that gave them control of one of Europe’s last independent generic-drug businesses. The business has since grown through several acquisitions.

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