Recordati and its top investor say no plans for deal with Angelini

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MILAN (Reuters) – Recordati and its top shareholder CVC Capital Partners on Friday denied any plans to combine the Italian drugmaker with smaller rival Angelini Pharma.

“CVC Capital Partners… is not contemplating a transaction with Angelini Pharma or its shareholders,” CVC said in a joint statement with Recordati.

The private equity firm and the drugmaker said there were no contacts with Angelini, adding they did “not envisage any dialogue taking place in the future with either the management or the shareholders of Angelini Pharma.”

The comments came after reports in the Italian press this week about a potential tie-up between the two drug firms.

On Friday, Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore said that the family that owns Angelini Pharma could transfer its pharmaceutical business into a new company and then merge that with rival Recordati. The paper said both sovereign and pension funds had been sounded out about a potential co-investment in the venture.

In November, following an earlier report about the potential tie-up, Angelini Pharma declined to comment on its possible interest for Recordati, adding it “always looks at all market opportunities.”

Recordati has a market capitalization of more than 11 billion euros.

(Reporting by Elvira Pollina and Elisa Anzolin, editing by Giulia Segreti and Valentina Za)