RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.,
June 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Grifols,
S.A. (GRF.MC) and Talecris Biotherapeutics Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:
TLCR) announced today that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
has accepted for public comment a Consent Agreement that outlines
the conditions necessary for Grifols' acquisition of Talecris to
proceed. Grifols may close the transaction without further action
by the FTC, and closing is expected to occur June 1, 2011, or shortly thereafter.
The terms of the Consent Agreement require Grifols to divest,
within 10 days of its acquisition of Talecris, the following assets
to the Italian company Kedrion:
- the Melville, NY,
fractionation facility (Grifols will lease the facility from
Kedrion for up to a four-year period);
- plasma collection centers located in Mobile, AL and Winston Salem, NC;
- an agreed upon quantity of plasma; and
- the exclusive right to sell Factor VIII in the United States under Talecris' brand name
Koate.
In addition, the Consent Agreement requires Grifols to enter
into various agreements (collectively, the Divestiture Agreement)
with Kedrion, including:
- a seven-year contract-manufacturing agreement under which
Grifols will manufacture 300,000 liters of Koate, private-label
IVIG, and private-label albumin for sale by Kedrion in the
U.S.
- a five-year option for Kedrion to purchase a non-exclusive
license to Koate intellectual property for use in Koate.
The Consent Agreement includes the appointment of an independent
monitor to oversee Grifols' compliance with the terms of the
Consent Agreement, and it requires Grifols to submit periodic
reports to the Commission setting forth in detail the manner and
form in which Grifols intends to comply, is complying, and has
complied with the Consent Agreement.
Grifols states that neither the Consent Agreement nor the
Divestiture Agreement signed with Kedrion will affect the operating
synergies that Grifols expects to achieve at the combined company
through the merger transaction.
About Grifols
Grifols is a Spanish holding company, specializing in the
hospital-pharmaceutical sector, and with a presence in over 90
countries. Since May 2006 it has been
listed on the Spanish Continuous Market, and it is included in the
Ibex-35. Grifols is the leading European plasma products company,
and the fourth-largest producer in the world. The company plans to
strengthen its position within the industry as a vertically
integrated company, on the basis of its ongoing investment program.
In terms of raw material, Grifols has secure plasma supplies from
its network of 80 plasmapheresis centers in the United States, while its production plants
in Barcelona (Spain) and Los
Angeles (United States)
ensure that it has the fractionation capacity to satisfy rising
demand. In addition, the company has implemented an ambitious
investment plan to enable it to deliver sustained growth over the
next 8 to 10 years.
About Talecris Biotherapeutics: Inspiration. Dedication.
Innovation.
Talecris Biotherapeutics is a global biotherapeutic and
biotechnology company that discovers, develops and produces
critical care treatments for people with life-threatening disorders
in a variety of therapeutic areas including immunology,
pulmonology, neurology and hemostasis. For more information, please
visit: http://www.talecris.com/
SOURCE Talecris Biotherapeutics, Inc.