CVC and GBL launch €10.7 billion bid to delist Recordati
The offer values the company at €52 per share, aiming to shield the business from public market volatility while pursuing long-term rare-disease investments.
A consortium led by CVC Capital Partners and Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) has launched a €10.73 billion cash tender offer to take Italian pharmaceutical group Recordati private. The voluntary bid values the company at €52 per share, comprising €51.29 in cash plus a €0.71 dividend paid earlier in the week. This represents a 12.9% premium over Recordati’s share price on March 25, the final trading session before initial speculation began.
The transaction aims to fully delist Recordati from Euronext Milan, allowing the private equity partners to pursue long-term investment in rare-disease portfolios without the short-term pressures of public equity markets. CVC Capital Partners is not an outsider to the deal, having invested in the company in 2018 and currently holding a 46.8% stake through its investment vehicle, Rossini. Rossini has formally agreed to tender its entire block of shares into the offer.
To execute a squeeze-out and complete the acquisition, the consortium must secure at least 66.67% of Recordati’s total share capital. GBL has pledged to deploy up to 10% of its €13.3 billion investment portfolio to co-fund the deal. Other co-investors include the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Canada’s CPP Investment Board, and Recordati’s current chairman, Andrea Recordati.
Recordati’s share price traded at €51.55 on Friday, following a closing price of €51.70 on Thursday. The offer price sits slightly below the recent trading levels and falls short of the €60-plus price targets assigned by some bullish equity analysts earlier this year. However, the price anchors closely to the deal terms as the market digests the announcement.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, pending regulatory approvals and antitrust clearances. The move marks one of the largest healthcare buyouts in Europe in recent years, reflecting a broader trend of private equity firms seeking to rescue mid-cap industrial champions from the structural drag of public listings.
