Downer & Company Advises Norsk Hydro on Sale of Pronova Biocare
BOSTON, January 21, 2004 - Downer & Company, LLC, an international investment banking firm specializing in middle-market corporate acquisitions and divestitures, announced that the company has advised Norsk Hydro ASA, a leading worldwide energy and aluminum company, on the divestiture of Pronova Biocare to Ferd Private Equity. Ferd acquired 80.1% of the shares of Pronova Biocare for NOK 165 million and Norsk Hydro is expected to realize a pre-tax gain of NOK 100 million from this transaction. Downer & Company and Handelsbanken Securities served as financial advisors to Norsk Hydro on this transaction, which closed on January 15, 2004.
Pronova Biocare specializes in the manufacture and sale of marine Omega-3 fatty acids for use in dietary supplements, food ingredients, and its proprietary prescription drug, Omacor. "This deal brings committed ownership to Pronova Biocare, focused on making the necessary investments to continue the rapid growth of the business," said Downer & Company Vice President, Paul Colone. "The planned expansion of the Sandefjord facility will increase the production capacity for Pronova's pharmaceutical products, a business area which experienced approximately 70% revenue growth in 2003," continued Colone.
Downer & Company and Handelsbanken Securities have been working jointly to divest non-core activities for Norsk Hydro for over a year. Recent activities include the divestitures of KFK and Svenska Foder to consortiums comprised of Danish and Swedish Agricultural concerns in 2003. Norsk Hydro is a Fortune 500 company focused on two main businesses: Oil & Energy and Aluminum.
About Downer & Company
Since its inception in 1975, Downer & Company, LLC, has gained distinction as a leading middle-market M&A firm focused on the execution of acquisition and divestiture mandates for international and domestic corporations and private equity firms. Downer & Company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and has offices in Paris, Dublin, Frankfurt and Sydney. Downer & Company was recognized as one of the top two middle-market M&A advisory firms of 2002 by The Mergers & Acquisitions Advisor. Downer & Company’s corporate headquarters are located at 211 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02110. For further information, visit www.downer.com
Contact:
Patti Harrington
Marketing Director
Downer & Company, LLC
pharrington@downer.com
