EQT Nears Deal To Buy Company That Transports Covid-19 Vaccines For $3B

Global buyout giant EQT AB is nearing a deal to acquire Envirotainer AB from rival Cinven in a deal that values the medical-freight provider at about $3 billion, including debt, according to The Wall Street Journal. The deal is expected to be announced in the coming days.

London-based equity firm Cinven acquired the business in 2018 in a deal valued at more than €1 billion, equivalent to about $1.1 billion. The firm is a global player in various sectors, including healthcare and Europe’s chemical sector.

The value of private-equity deals hit a record annual start of $471.2 billion during the first five months of this year, according to data provider Refinitiv, as buyout firms face pressure to invest their record amounts of cash. Last month, however, the value of private-equity deals fell 74% from the prior month, in a sign that rising interest rates and market volatility are making deal-making more challenging.

Healthcare services are often perceived to be resilient to economic headwinds. Envirotainer played a key role during the height of the pandemic as a transporter for life saving vaccines. The company’s containers had transported about 65% of all Covid-19 vaccines that required airfreight as of March 2021, according to the company’s website.

The company, which has now handled over one billion COVID vaccines, has been an advocate for industry cooperation in response to the pandemic. Several countries relaxed or issued exceptions to antitrust rules in sectors considered essential for dealing with the sanitary emergency, including allowing coordination that might normally raise authorities’ concerns.

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