Ascendis Health said to mull further unit sales to cut debt
Ascendis Health, which is already considering an offer for its Remedica unit, is planning to sell other key businesses as it battles to service debt and ensure survival, according to people familiar with the matter. The debt-laden maker of multivitamins, probiotics and nutritional pet supplements received an unsolicited offer for Cyprus-based unit Remedica in January, providing relief for the worst performing stock on the JSE last year.
Ascendis has now earmarked its bioscience division for an additional sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the deliberations are private. The Remedica business has been valued by Ascendis at about $400m, compared with a 2016 purchase price of €260m, the people said. If the as-yet unnamed buyer agrees to meet this price, it would generate proceeds of more than double Ascendis’s current market capitalisation of R2.4bn. The drugmaker didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. On Wednesday, Ascendis said SA investment f...
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