Novo says Catalent deal regulatory closing conditions fulfilled

Novo Nordisk (NVO) announced that as of today, all regulatory closing conditions relating to the review of its pending acquisition of Catalent (CTLT), including expiry of the timing agreement in the U.S., have been fulfilled. The parties are now free to close the transaction, as well as Novo Nordisk’s subsequent acquisition of three Catalent manufacturing sites from Novo Holdings. Novo Nordisk now expects the acquisition to be completed in the coming days. Upon completion, the acquisition is expected to impact Novo’s financial outlook as issued on November 6, with a low single-digit negative impact on operating profit growth and to negatively impact free cash flow with the $11.7B acquisition price. The company said its ongoing share buyback program of 20B DKK is not impacted. For 2025, the acquisition is expected to have a mid single-digit negative impact on operating profit growth. Novo Nordisk added that its capital allocation priorities focus on internal growth investments, including supply chain expansions, dividends as well as external growth opportunities, including acquiring the three manufacturing sites. Consequently, Novo is not expecting to initiate a share buyback program in 2025. f