R.P. Scherer
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Manufacturer of the TruScent gelatin capsule fragrance sampling system announces acquisition by wholesale distributor Cardinal Health May 18. Cardinal will pay about $2.4 bil. for the world's largest gelatin capsule manufacturer, with Scherer shareholders receiving .95 Cardinal common shares for each Scherer share. Cardinal will also assume about $159 mil. in long-term Scherer debt. R.P. Scherer will be run as a separate operating facility under current management, which is headed by Chairman and CEO Alex Erdeljan and President and Chief Operating Officer George Fotiades. The size of the transaction may indicate that Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal does not foresee a successful completion of its proposed merger with Bergen Brunswig, which the Federal Trade Commission is attempting to block ("The Rose Sheet" March 23, In Brief). Troy, Mich.-based R.P. Scherer also holds an exclusive licensing agreement with Advanced Polymer Systems to use APS' Microsponge technology in its unit-dose softgel capsules...