German drug firm Stada lines up new chairman and board ahead of IPO

By Emma-Victoria Farr

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Stada has lined up a new independent chairman and board of directors in a key step for the private equity-backed German drug manufacturer ahead of a listing this year that could be one of Europe's biggest, the company said on Thursday.

Andreas Fibig, a Novo Nordisk board member, will become independent chairman of a board of nine members that will be established if the company goes ahead with an initial public offering (IPO), the company said.

Stada's owners Bain Capital and Cinven have been preparing for the listing, which could value the business at around 10 billion euros ($10.37 billion) after talks over a sale to rival financial sponsor firm GTCR stalled, as Reuters previously reported.

Bain and Cinven declined to comment.

The company is planning its IPO in Frankfurt for the beginning of the second quarter, two sources familiar with the situation said.

Stada is likely to be one of the biggest companies to tap investors in Europe, the U.S. and the Middle East this year. Last year in Europe, Puig Brands was the largest listing, raising $2.9 billion, according to Dealogic data.

Bain and Cinven are likely to sell a minority stake each in Stada, raising proceeds towards future growth, including potential acquisitions in consumer healthcare and speciality pharma products, one of the sources said.

The IPO option has been studied in the past few months as an alternative to a possible sale process run by Bain and Cinven, Reuters previously reported. A final decision on timing is still dependent on market conditions.

If equity capital markets prove too volatile, Stada's owners may revert to bidders that showed interest in the business last year, said a third person with knowledge of the situation.

In the first half of 2024, Stada's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation, or EBITDA, rose 11% to 463.5 million euros, according to a release on its website. In full year 2023, its EBITDA reached 802 million euros.

In December, Stada said on its website that it had appointed Ingo Schachel as head of investor relations, who most recently worked in the same position at RENK including on its IPO earlier in 2024.

Bain and Cinven acquired Stada in 2017 for 5.3 billion euros, taking the company private. The company, founded in Dresden in 1895 and now based in Bad Vilbel near Frankfurt, sells prescription pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter health products.

($1 = 0.9647 euros)

(Reporting by Emma-Victoria Farr, editing by Anousha Sakoui and Jane Merriman)