Kühne Holding acquires Aenova from BC Partners

Kühne Holding has agreed to acquire pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Aenova Group from BC Partners. BC will reinvest and retain a minority stake in Aenova. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

Aenova Group is a global CDMO headquartered in Starnberg that provides comprehensive services for the development, manufacturing and packaging of pharmaceutical products. The company has 4,000 employees across 14 sites and has grown into one of the top 10 CDMOs in the world under BC Partners ownership and leadership of CEO Jan Kengelbach. In 2023, Aenova estimated revenues of a record €832 million, up 17% from the previous year.

Dominik de Daniel, CEO of Kühne Holding, commented: “With this investment, we are taking important strategic steps to expand our portfolio to include healthcare and pharmaceutical assets with strong financial fundamentals and long-term growth prospects. Aenova members Aenova Group CPM - CPR - Dragenopharm - Haupt Pharma - Swiss Caps - SwissCo - Temmler are on a strong performance trajectory and we are excited to further accelerate this under our ownership.”

BC Partners Chairman Raymond Svider added: “We are pleased to see such an important German healthcare business continuing its growth trajectory under the strategic ownership of Kühne Holding AG. As a company, we have a long and successful history of working with families and founders across Europe and we look forward to working closely with Kühne Holding and Aenova on this next chapter of the business.”

Aenova CEO Jan Kengelbach said: “Through the new ownership structure, we will continue to deliver on our strategy to make Aenova the CDMO of choice in Europe with market-leading capabilities and innovative expertise. With its long-term investment horizon, Kühne Holding is ideally placed to support this strategy, allowing us to continue on the path of operational excellence in our traditional manufacturing business while building a highly sought-after technology platform and development services to meet our customers' needs.”