Following a failed $5.6-billion acquisition bid by two investment firms that did not gain shareholder approval, Stada Arzneimittel AG, a Bad Vilbel, Germany-based generic and over-the-counter drug company, is undergoing a change in executive leadership. Incumbent Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Matthias Wiedenfels and Chief Financial, Marketing and Sales Officer Helmut Kraft have informed the company’s Supervisory Board that they will step down from their positions, effective immediately, due to personal reasons.

The Supervisory Board has appointed Engelbert Coster Tjeenk Willink as CEO and Dr. Bernhard Düttman as chief financial officer (CFO), effectively immediately. Both members were appointed to the Executive Board until the end of the year on an interim basis. Dr. Barthold Piening, Executive Board member responsible for production and development, will continue his duties unchanged.

Alongside his duties as CEO, Willink will also be responsible for marketing and operations. Willink has 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and was until 2012 a member of the Executive Board of Boehringer Ingelheim. Since then, he has been a member of numerous supervisory boards in the sector. New CFO Dr. Düttman was until 2015 CFO of Lanxess AG, and prior to that was CFO at Beiersdorf AG.

In April 2017, Stada signed an investor agreement with Bain Capital, a Boston-based private investment firm, and Cinven Partners, a London-based private equity firm, in support of Bain and Cinven’s bid, which was worth EUR 66.00 ($69.93) per share. At the time of the acquisition, this was a deal valued at EUR 5.318 billion ($5.63 billion: note reflects exchange rates at time of proposed acquisition). In June 2017, Nidda Healthcare Holding AG, the acquiring company of Bain Capital and Cinven, the two investment firms pursuing Stada, reported that following an extended acceptance period ending June 22, 2017, the minimum acceptance threshold for Stada shares needed for public takeover had not been reached. Only 65.52% of the Stada shares outstanding had been tendered under the takeover offer despite a reduction from the original threshold from 75% to 67.5%. Stada’s decision to support Bain and Cinven’s bid came after Stada had announced in February 2017 that it had opened up talks with potential bidders for the company.

Chairman of the Supervisory Board Oetker confirmed the company’s medium-term growth targets for 2019, announced on March 17, 2017, remain unchanged. The company expects consolidated sales of between EUR 2.65 billion and EUR 2.7 billion ($3.08 million), adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) of between EUR 570 million and EUR 590 million ($673 million) and consolidated group profit of between EUR 250 million and EUR 270 million ($308 million)

Source: Stada