Novo Holdings completes $16.5B acquisition of Catalent
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New Jersey-based Catalent Inc. announced Wednesday that Novo Holdings, headquartered in Denmark, has completed its $16.5 billion acquisition of the contract drugmaker.
With the deal done, Novo Holdings said it will move forward with plans to sell three of Catalent’s fill-finish sites—including one in Bloomington—to subsidiary Novo Nordisk.
Plans for the acquisition were first announced in February.
Catalent said in a news release that its president and CEO, Alessandro Maselli, will remain in his current position. He said the completion of the sale marks a significant milestone for the company.
“As a private company with Novo Holdings’ partnership and support, we are well-positioned to deliver unparalleled outcomes for our customers and the patients they serve, and ultimately create value for our stakeholders,” Maselli said in a news release. “I am excited for all that we will accomplish going forward.”
In addition to the Bloomington facility, Novo Nordisk will acquire Catalent’s fill-finish sites in Anagni, Italy and Brussels, Belgium.
Catalent manufactures COVID-19 vaccines for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, as well as other injectable medicines.
The contract development manufacturing organization at one point was looking to add 1,000 jobs in Bloomington. But the company instead ended up announcing the layoffs of a total of 550 employees, citing a drop in demand for the vaccines.
Almost two months after the Novo Holdings deal was announced, Catalent said it was laying off an additional 130 employees in Bloomington.
The Bloomington plant that Catalent bought from Cook Group was once an RCA TV manufacturing plant that employed 8,000 workers at its peak in the 1960s.
The company did not say whether any addition job cuts were expected following the closing of the acquisition.
“We are pleased to welcome Alessandro and the talented Catalent team to the Novo Holdings family,” Novo Holdings CEO Kasim Kutay said in the release. “Catalent plays a key role in driving product development, launch and supply solutions for pharma, biotechnology, and consumer health companies, and its mission is closely aligned with Novo Holdings’ purpose to invest for the benefit of people and the planet.”
Now that the sale is complete, Catalent’s stock has ceased trading and will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.