By Kevin Madagan
Ampersand Capital Partners has announced its acquisition of Nektar Therapeutics’ PEGylation reagent manufacturing business.
The business, which will be branded Gannet BioChem and continue to operate out of its facility in Huntsville, Alabama, develops, scales and manufactures polyethylene glycol (PEG) reagents, which are used in advanced biopharmaceutical and therapeutic products.
Ampersand, based in Wellesley, Mass., is a middle market private equity firm with a focus on growth equity investments in the healthcare sector within North America, Europe and the Asia–Pacific region. Founded in 1988, the firm typically pursues majority or minority positions in companies generating between $10 million and $200 million in revenue.
When the transaction was initially announced in November, Nektar (Nasdaq: NKTR) reported it would receive $90 million in total consideration for the business, comprised of $70 million in cash and $20 million equity ownership in the new portfolio company.
