Switzerland’s Lonza edges closer to sale of its capsule and health ingredients business

By Bernadette Hogg and Orest Dovhan

Jan 28 (Reuters) – Swiss contract drug manufacturer Lonza is in talks with a potential buyer for its capsules and health ingredients business, its finance chief said on Wednesday, without naming the other party.

“This is not an endless process anymore,” CFO Philippe Deecke told reporters after Lonza reported its full-year results. He refused to give an estimate for the expected price of the business.

The company has been seeking to exit the capsules and health ingredients business since December 2024, with an aim to focus solely on its core contract drug manufacturing offering.

Bloomberg News reported in November that investment firms Lone Star, Altaris and One Rock were among the bidders for the business, which makes hard empty capsules used in medications and dietary supplements and health ingredients for human and animal nutrition.

The business, which Lonza reported as discontinued operations on Wednesday, saw a return to growth in 2025, with sales rising 3.9% in constant currencies.

Growth was particularly strong in the second half of the year, at 8% based on constant exchange rates.

Deecke said there were no surprises in the 2025 results, which meant the story had not changed for interested parties.

(Reporting by Bernadette Hogg and Orest Dovhan in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)