Houlihan Lokey Advises Content Group
Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce the sale of Content Group, a portfolio company of Aksìa SGR S.p.A. (Aksìa), to De Agostini S.p.A (De Agostini). The transaction closed on 31 October 2024.
Content Group is an Italian pharmaceutical contract manufacturing organisation (CDMO), a European leader in the development and contract manufacturing of medical devices and pharmaceutical products, focusing on the ophthalmic and inhalation segments. The group consists of two legal entities: COC Farmaceutici, a company founded in 1990 focused mainly on the production of medical devices, and Tubilux Pharma, a historical company with more than 80 years of activity in the development and production of pharmaceutical products. Content Group’s business model extends from pharmaceutical and medical device research and development services to manufacturing and packaging activities and meets the needs of both large blue-chip multinationals and specialised players that are leaders in their niches. The group operates through three production plants located in Rovereto sulla Secchia (Modena, headquarters), Sant’Agata (Bologna), and Pomezia (Rome).
With the acquisition of Content Group, De Agostini will complete its first investment in the pharmaceutical sector, adding a new business area to its portfolio of industrial activities. As already achieved in the holding company’s investee companies in other sectors (publishing, gaming and lotteries, asset management, and media), De Agostini will offer Content Group its established industrial experience in building and supporting leading groups in their respective markets, facilitating their global growth path over a long-term horizon.
Aksìa is an Italy-based private equity fund management company that invests mainly in medium-sized Italian companies, fostering their growth, international development, and management input.
De Agostini is a family-owned industrial and financial holding company with a diversified portfolio spanning publishing, media and TV, education, lotteries and gaming, and asset management. De Agostini invests in companies led by entrepreneurs and managers who share the group’s values, have or aspire to have a distinctive market position, and possess Italian roots with a strong international orientation.
Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive sellside advisor to Aksìa and the management of Content Group. The transaction strengthened Houlihan Lokey’s expertise in the CDMO sector as well as its relationship with both of the financial sponsors involved in the deal.
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