Solvay completes acquisition of Fournier Pharma
New General Manager appointed
Solvay announced today that it has completed the acquisition of 100% of Fournier Pharma, following the successful completion of social and regulatory procedures worldwide. The process of integrating Fournier Pharma and Solvay Pharmaceuticals will begin with the creation of a number of Integration Teams whose task will be to identify the best operational solutions for combining all activities. A complete analysis of Fournier Pharma’s structures is planned over the upcoming 12 months in order to prepare the deployment of the future organization within Solvay Pharmaceuticals.
Solvay has appointed Coos de Graaf as General Manager of Fournier Pharma in replacement of Pierre Moustial. He will also lead the integration project. Pierre Moustial will support Coos de Graaf in his new role, until December 31, 2005.
“We at Solvay Pharmaceuticals are looking forward to working with our new colleagues from Fournier Pharma,” said Werner Cautreels, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Solvay Pharmaceuticals. “They bring a long-standing expertise and exciting new products and projects, which together with our own cardiovascular will become Solvay’s largest pharmaceutical franchise of cardio-metabolism,” Cautreels added.
Fournier Pharma which is a global leader in fenofibrates, adds a strong and unique product line in dyslipidemia (i.e. control of cholesterol and triglycerides) to Solvay’s cardiology business and research pipeline. Fournier Pharma’s other smaller fields of activity include gynecology, gastroenterology and psychiatry – which match Solvay’s other therapeutic choices.
As a consequence of the transaction, Fournier Pharma’s finances will be consolidated into Solvay Pharmaceuticals commencing August 1, 2005. The transaction will expand Solvay Pharmaceuticals’ business by more than one third in terms of sales and immediately enhance the Solvay Group’s profitability.
FOURNIER PHARMA is an international privately owned research-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in France, with operations in 30 countries. A successful and innovative product development policy has grown Fournier Pharma’s fenofibrate into a blockbuster drug, notably through a successful partnership with Abbott in the United States, while the company’s R&D pipeline is generating promising new compounds. In 2004, 75% of its turnover was achieved outside France, while consolidated turnover amounted to MEUR 593, with Recurring Earnings before Interests and Taxes (REBIT) of MEUR 138. Fournier Pharma employs some 3,300 people. See www.fournierpharma.com
SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS is the pharmaceuticals entity in SOLVAY. It is a research driven pharmaceutical company that seeks to fulfill carefully selected, unmet medical needs in the therapeutic areas of cardiology, gastroenterology, neuroscience, women’s and men’s health, and influenza vaccines. SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS employed nearly 8,000 people worldwide before acquiring Fournier Pharma.
SOLVAY is an international chemical and pharmaceutical group with headquarters in Brussels. It employs some 30000 people (prior to acquiring Fournier) in 50 countries. In 2004 its consolidated sales amounted to EUR 7.9 billion generated by its three activity sectors: Chemicals, Plastics and Pharmaceuticals. Solvay is listed on the Euronext 100 index of top European companies. Details are available at www.solvay.com.
Note to the editors
Coos de Graaf, a Dutch citizen born 1953, was most recently Senior vice President for global marketing at Solvay Pharmaceuticals. He successfully guided a re-alignment between the company’s strongest marketing franchises and its strategic priority settings, for especially the later stage development projects. He has previously acted as General Manager of sales and marketing subsidiaries in Belgium and South Africa.