Catalent announced Oct. 14 it signed a definitive agreement to sell its oral solids development and small-scale manufacturing facility in Somerset, which also serves as its corporate headquarters. 

The potential buyer is Ardena, a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) with locations in Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden.  

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in early 2025.

Catalent said its corporate headquarters will remain at the Somerset site “in the near term” before moving to a new location. It will announce that change at a later time. 

Big plans 

The deal comes as the pharmaceutical company undergoes merger talks with Denmark-based Novo Holdings. The firms entered into a merger agreement in February for Novo Holdings to acquire Catalent in an all-cash transaction worth $16.5 billion. 

That deal still expects to close toward the end of 2024, Catalent confirmed in its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2024 filings. 

“As Catalent steadily progresses towards [sic] becoming a privately held company, we remain focused on serving our valued customers and positioning the Company to best leverage the expanded resources that Novo Holdings, a world-class investment firm focused on life sciences, will provide,” Catalent President and CEO Alessandro Maselli said about the pending agreement. 

Also in February, Catalent reported a workforce reduction of about 300 positions during the fourth quarter of 2023. The cuts came after restructuring its board and launching new initiatives aimed to “right-size” the business.

Catalent has invested in oral solid capabilities at other facilities in the U.S. and Europe in recent years. Most notably, it acquired a 333,000-square-foot Greenville, N.C., facility for $475 million in October 2022. 

The company operates more than 50 manufacturing sites around the world and employs over 17,000, including 3,000-plus scientists and technicians. Launching more than 150 products each year, Catalent reported approximately $4.4 billion in revenue in its 2024 fiscal year. 

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 7:26 a.m. ET Oct. 16, 2024, with a photo of Catalent’s Somerset site.