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<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OCN9VzHU5mIOABP23ApQSzCSnQ5u_pr5KZ7lK3i4QM3j8AA/641?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="Image" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OCN9VzHU5mIOABP23ApQSzCSnQ5u_pr5KZ7lK3i4QM3j8AA/641"/>At least 3 top PE institutions are interested This article has 2,348 words, approximately 3.3 minutes Author | Wei Yajun Source | PE Planet
(ID: PE-China)
At least 3 top PE institutions are interested.
Recently, according to Bloomberg, Swiss contract pharmaceutical company PolyPeptide Group AG is becoming a hot target in the private equity market, attracting acquisition interest from several top private equity firms including EQT AB, KKR, and Advent International.
Insiders indicate that negotiations are currently underway, and it is uncertain whether a deal can ultimately be reached. This potential transaction may also attract interest from other potential buyers.
PolyPeptide's latest market value is approximately $1.04 billion (over 7 billion RMB), having risen nearly 20% this year.
3 PE Giants
Brewing a Buyout
From the transaction structure perspective, this potential acquisition has the typical characteristics of a &#34;controlling transaction,&#34; namely a Buyout.
Bloomberg also stated that any acquirer seeking a privatization deal may choose to collaborate with the current controlling shareholder—Swedish billionaire Frederik Paulsen Jr. to advance the transaction.
Paulsen Jr. holds a controlling stake in PolyPeptide through Draupnir Holding B.V., and this ownership structure means that the acquirer needs to reach a strategic consensus with the founding family rather than simply making a public market tender offer.
From a valuation logic analysis, PolyPeptide's current price-to-sales ratio (P/S) is approximately 2.1-2.3 times, and the enterprise value/revenue ratio is about 2.37 times, which is relatively reasonable compared to the valuation levels of similar CDMO companies like Lonza and Catalent.
Considering the company's projected revenue growth of 15.6% year-on-year to €389.3 million in 2025, and the EBITDA profit margin significantly increasing from 7.5% in 2024 to 12%, this valuation level is significantly attractive to private equity funds seeking industry consolidation.
The industrial logic behind the transaction is also clear. As a specialized manufacturer in the global peptide CDMO field, PolyPeptide is positioned at the forefront of explosive growth in GLP-1 class drugs (such as semaglutide and tirzepatide for weight loss and blood sugar reduction).
The company's 2025 financial report clearly states that metabolic therapeutic drugs (mainly GLP-1 related products) are the core drivers of its revenue growth
For private equity firms like EQT, KKR, and Anhong Capital, which have rich experience in healthcare investments, PolyPeptide represents a rare target for entering the high-barrier peptide manufacturing field.
Just Five Years Since IPO
The Pioneer of &#34;Peptide Industrialization&#34; is Selling
According to information, PolyPeptide was founded in 1952 and is one of the earliest companies engaged in the industrial production of synthetic peptides, predating the rise of the modern biotechnology industry by several decades.
At that time, the company began commercial production of therapeutic peptides in Malmö, Sweden, initially operating as part of the pharmaceutical company Ferring. In 1996, PolyPeptide was officially established as an independent CDMO. Since then, through a series of strategic acquisitions, the company has gradually built a global production network.
On April 28, 2021, PolyPeptide successfully went public on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX) under the stock code PPGN. The equity structure at the time of listing showed that Draupnir Holding B.V. (controlled by Frederik Paulsen Jr.) maintained an absolute controlling position. This arrangement not only raised funds needed for the company's expansion but also ensured that the founding family retained control over the company's long-term strategy.
Currently, PolyPeptide operates six GMP-certified production bases globally, located in Europe (Malmö, Sweden; Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium; Strasbourg, France), the United States (Torrance and San Diego, California), and India (Ambarnath). The company has approximately 1,440 full-time employees (data as of the end of 2025), an increase of 5.7% from 1,362 in 2024.
Recent financial trajectories show that PolyPeptide exhibits typical characteristics of a CDMO company in a capacity expansion phase: steady revenue growth, rapid recovery of profit margins, and continuous improvement in cash flow.
In terms of revenue, the company achieved €336.8 million in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%; in 2025, revenue surged to €389.3 million, a year-on-year increase of 15.6% (16% at fixed exchange rates).
Among these, commercial production revenue grew by 31.8% year-on-year in 2024, while development project revenue declined by 23.5%, reflecting that several Phase III clinical projects in the company's pipeline successfully received approval for market launch, with the revenue mix shifting towards a more certain commercialization phase.
The improvement in profitability is even more significant. In 2023, the company's EBITDA was -€6 million (profit margin -1.9%), turning positive to €25.4 million (profit margin 7.5%) in 2024, and further rising to €46.8 million (profit margin 12%) in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 84.4%
This improvement is mainly attributed to the capacity ramp-up of the large solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) facility in Belgium, product portfolio optimization, and enhanced operational efficiency. By the second half of 2025, the EBITDA profit margin has reached 19%, indicating that profitability is accelerating.
As of the end of 2025, the company holds cash and cash equivalents of €75 million, along with an unused revolving credit facility of €51 million (total credit limit of €151 million), providing ample financial flexibility for subsequent expansion.
GLP-1 is at a breakout point
Three PE firms aim for strategic positioning
The management of PolyPeptide provided clear mid-term guidance in its 2025 financial report: to double revenue compared to 2023 by 2028, with an EBITDA profit margin approaching 25%, and capital expenditures maintaining a ratio of 15%-20% of revenue.
This ambitious goal is built on the structural growth of the peptide drug market. According to third-party market research data, the global peptide therapeutic drug market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 15% until 2030, with metabolic diseases (primarily GLP-1 class drugs) being the core driver.
PolyPeptide is currently involved in more than one-third of the global clinical phase III peptide projects, with revenue from metabolic diseases accounting for 40% (2024 data).
To support this growth, the company is undergoing large-scale capacity expansion. These investment projects enable the company to meet the peptide API production demands from clinical stages to large-scale commercialization (batch sizes in the tens of kilograms).
This includes the large SPPS facility in Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium, which successfully commenced production in 2025 and reached target utilization; the modular expansion project in Malmö, Sweden, which completed the installation of prefabricated modules in September 2025, is expected to double capacity; and the capacity expansion in Strasbourg, France, is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
In the global peptide CDMO market, PolyPeptide and its Swiss counterpart Bachem are the two leading specialized manufacturers. In 2024, Bachem achieved revenue of CHF 605 million (a year-on-year increase of 4.8%), while PolyPeptide's revenue was €337 million (a year-on-year increase of 5.1%).
Both companies benefit from the explosive demand for GLP-1, with capital expenditure intensity reaching approximately 48% and 26% of revenue, respectively, indicating that the industry is at a peak of capacity expansion.
From the perspective of the Chinese market, the peptide CDMO industry is in a rapid growth phase. According to industry research data, the market size of China's peptide CRDMO has grown from $200 million in 2018 to $500 million in 2023, with a CAGR of 26.8%, and is expected to reach $4.3 billion by 2032
Local CDMO companies represented by Kelaiying and WuXi AppTec are accelerating the construction of peptide production capacity, with Kelaiying's total solid-phase synthesis capacity expected to reach approximately 30,000 liters by mid-2025, and is projected to expand to 44,000 liters by the end of 2025.
If PolyPeptide successfully goes private this time, it may provide more capital operation space for its further layout in the Asia-Pacific region (especially in China).
The peptide drug industry has jumped from a historically niche specialty field to a key node in the mainstream pharmaceutical industry. For private equity buyers such as EQT, KKR, and Anhong Capital, this is not only a financial investment but also a strategic layout to position themselves in the GLP-1 and next-generation peptide therapy supply chain.
The Frederik Paulsen Jr. family's deep cultivation of this enterprise over the past 70 years also proves that in the professional CDMO field, the long-term value of technological accumulation and customer relationships far exceeds short-term financial returns.
Regardless of whether the final transaction is completed, the PolyPeptide case provides an excellent sample for observing the integration trend of the global pharmaceutical outsourcing industry.
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Swiss contract pharmaceutical company PolyPeptide Group AG is attracting acquisition interest from several top private equity firms, including EQT AB, KKR, and Advent International. The company's latest market capitalization is approximately $1.04 billion, having risen nearly 20% year-to-date. The potential acquisition deal has characteristics of a controlling transaction and needs to be advanced in cooperation with the current controlling shareholder Frederik Paulsen Jr. PolyPeptide's valuation level is relatively reasonable, with expected revenue growth of 15.6% year-on-year in 2025, and a significant improvement in EBITDA profit margins, attracting the attention of private equity funds

70 billion, the pioneer of "peptide industrialization" is up for sale