Mallinckrodt buys Ikaria for $2.3B for neonatal care

STOCKHOLM – Mallinckrodt Plc agreed to acquire Ikaria Inc. for about $2.3 billion from a group of investors led by Madison Dearborn Partners and including New Mountain Capital LLC to expand in neonatal intensive care treatments.

The acquisition bolsters Mallinckrodt’s hospital business by adding to its current base of diagnostic radiology and pain management in surgical specialties, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Ikaria’s top product, INOmax, treats premature infants with breathing difficulties.

CEO Mark Trudeau has been using acquisitions to broaden Mallinckrodt’s collection of health-care assets since the company was spun off from Covidien Plc in 2013; Covidien, based in Ireland with U.S. operations in Mansfield, Mass., was acquired by Medtronic plc, also based in Ireland, in January.

Mallinckrodt acquired pain-drug maker Cadence Pharmaceuticals Inc. last year for about $1.3 billion, then followed up by buying Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $5.6 billion.

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Mallinckrodt shares have gained 23 percent this year.

The company is domiciled in Dublin with U.S. headquarters in St. Louis. The transaction will add about $150 million in net sales and at least 25 cents a share in adjusted earnings in fiscal 2015, the company said.

Madison Dearborn acquired a majority stake in Ikaria in a recapitalization that was completed in February 2014, the Abernathy MacGregor Group, which represents Madison Dearborn and New Mountain, said in an e-mailed statement. New Mountain, which had been the majority shareholder, retained a minority stake in the company.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. provided financial advice to Mallinckrodt, while Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Arthur Cox in Ireland were legal advisers. Kirkland & Ellis LLP were legal advisers to Ikaria.

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