The private equity owners of Foundation Consumer Healthcare are exploring a potential sale of the company behind popular morning-after pill Plan B One-Step, according to people familiar with the matter.
Foundation’s backers, which include Kelso & Co. and Juggernaut Capital Partners, are working with financial advisers, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. The company may seek more than $4 billion for the business, some of the people said.
The Pittsburgh-based company, which also owns over-the-counter brands including Breath Right nasal strips, cold sore treatment Campho-Phenique and Dimetapp cold medicine, is expected to draw interest from consumer health companies and private equity firms, the people said.
Deliberations are at an early stage and there’s no certainty they will result in a deal, the people said. Representatives for Kelso, Juggernaut and Foundation Consumer Healthcare didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.
Demand for emergency contraceptive pills like Plan B surged last year as customers stocked up after the US Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion. That benefited Foundation, which generates about $500 million of revenue and $250 million in annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, the people said.
Still, concern about the political risks associated with owning the Plan B pill could deter interest from companies reluctant to wade into the debate over reproductive rights, some of the people said.
Foundation Consumer Healthcare bought Plan B One-Step and other emergency contraception brands from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. for $675 million in 2017, according to a press release at the time.
Plan B is an emergency contraceptive that prevents pregnancy within three days of unprotected sex by temporarily delaying ovulation. It doesn’t affect an existing pregnancy or cause abortion. Consumers can purchase it without a prescription.
Earlier this month, Perrigo Co.’s Opill received US clearance as the first daily oral birth-control product available without a prescription.
--With assistance from Kamaron Leach.
Author: Michelle F. Davis and Crystal Tse