Acella Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a company that develops, markets, sells and distributes a broad portfolio of non-branded pharmaceutical and other products, acquires a leading US prenatal brand, Prenate family of trademarks and other associated intellectual property.
The worldwide trademarks included in the sale were the core Prenate mark, in addition to Prenate DHA, Prenate Essential and Prenate Elite. Acella has entered into a separate agreement with Avion Pharmaceuticals, LLC, Acella’s sister company, to market and sell products under Prenate.
“We are extremely pleased about the acquisition of Prenate,” stated Mark Pugh, CEO of Acella Pharmaceuticals. “For many years, Prenate has been a gold standard for improving the nutritional status of women throughout pregnancy and in the postnatal period, for both lactating and non-lactating mothers. The addition of Prenate fits solidly with our core strategic vision of establishing ourselves as a leading provider in the women’s health and nutritional spaces.”
The American Institute of Medicine, in its publication, “Nutrition During Pregnancy” (1990 Nat’l Academy Press) stated its consensus on the use of dietary supplements before, during and after pregnancy. The American Institute of Medicine further noted the lack of sufficient folic acid in the average American diet, for which they recommended supplementation. Acella’s current portfolio of Prenate products will assist women in supplementing this dietary need.
Under the terms of its agreement with Acella, Avion is in the process of growing a national sales force of 80 sales associates to immediately and actively promote the Prenate vitamin family to physicians across the US.
H.I.G. WhiteHorse completed the financing for the acquisition. H.I.G WhiteHorse provides debt financing to middle market companies in the US and Europe. H.I.G WhiteHorse has a broad investment mandate to provide senior and subordinated debt for refinancing, growth capital, acquisitions and buyouts. Credit facilities typically range in size from $15 to $100 million for companies with revenues of $50 million or more. Jefferies & Company, Inc. acted as Exclusive Financial Advisor to Acella.
