Mallinckrodt sells CMDS business to Guerbet for $270 million

Mallinckrodt plc (NYSE: MNK), a leading specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it has closed the sale of its global contrast media and delivery systems (CMDS) business to Guerbet (GBT- NYSE Euronext) in a transaction valued at approximately $270 million. The company's CMDS operations encompassed four manufacturing facilities and a total of approximately 1,000 employees spread across the globe, including nearly 75 in the St. Louis area. This entire workforce and the manufacturing facilities have been transferred to Guerbet.

Mallinckrodt's action to divest its CMDS business follows through on the company's stated objective to become a high-growth specialty pharmaceutical business, transforming its portfolio by adding durable, innovative, branded assets with significant volume growth potential.

"The diversiture of our CMDS business is an important step toward realigning our portfolio to one that contributes higher growth for shareholders and focuses our investments on medicines that provide higher value for patients and providers for the long run. With our strategic goals and priorities focused in the specialty biopharmaceutical space, we believe Guerbet is the best long-term owner for our CMDS portfolio," said Mark Trudeau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mallinckrodt. "Our CMDS business is an excellent strategic fit for the Guerbet organization and we believe the enlarged global reach and scale of the combined business will enable Guerbet to substantially increase its ability to meet the needs of patients around the world. With this transaction, we are pleased to welcome Guerbet to the St. Louis area."

Mallinckrodt's former CMDS business manufactures and markets a comprehensive array of diagnostic imaging products engineered to work across the radiology suite – computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, X-ray and cardiac catheterization – as well as the company's urological imaging system and related components.

Yves L'Epine, Chief Executive Officer of Guerbet, said, "This acquisition transforms Guerbet and accelerates our future. We are very pleased to welcome these new colleagues to Guerbet and expand our U.S. operations. We expect to successfully and rapidly complete this integration, giving birth to a new global leader in medical imaging."