Life Healthcare is one of the largest private healthcare providers in southern Africa, primarily serving the private medically insured market, with over 40 years' experience in the private healthcare sector. Picture: Supplied
Life Healthcare has announced that it has entered into binding agreements for the sale of its entire stake in international pharma company, Life Molecular Imaging (LMI) to US-based radiopharmaceuticals group Lantheus Holdings for a total purchase consideration of $750 million (R13.9 billion).
Lantheus is a New York-listed radiopharmaceutical-focused company headquartered in Massachusetts and delivering life-changing science to enable clinicians to Find, Fight and Follow disease to deliver better patient outcomes.
This comes after Life Healthcare, acting through its wholly owned indirect subsidiary in the United Kingdom, Life Medical Group Limited, concluded binding transaction agreements with Lantheus Radiopharmaceuticals UK Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lantheus, for the sale of 100% of the issued share capital of LMI.
As part of its investment in the Alliance Medical Group, Life Healthcare acquired LMI in 2018 to bolster its utilisation of cyclotrons in Europe with further upside for the manufacturing, distribution and sales of radiopharmaceuticals in other parts of the world.
At the date of acquisition in June 2018, LMI had one internationally approved diagnostic radiopharmaceutical, namely NeuraCeq.
But since 2018, Life Healthcare invested significantly in LMI ($66m), commercialising its flagship product NeuraCeq and further developing its pipeline of novel radioisotope imaging agents.
Life Healthcare said the purchase consideration by Lantheus comprises an upfront payment of an enterprise value of $350 million (R6 475bn), on a cash free, debt free basis and further adjusted to reflect any surplus or deficit of working capital compared to an agreed normalised level, and potential earnout payments totalling a further $400m (R7.4bn) linked to milestones of future sales of LMI products up to 2034.
In addition, Life Healthcare is expected to retain the commercial benefits awarded to LMI under the RM2 sub-license agreement reached with Lantheus in June 2024, subject to agreeing upon the terms on which the net economic benefit of that sub-licence agreement will be delivered to Life Healthcare prior to completion of the proposed transaction.
“Post completion of the Proposed Transaction, Life Healthcare will be a leading southern African, diversified and integrated healthcare services provider, with strong growth potential through its integrated and value-based care model, and with further potential profit sharing in foreign currency through the Earnouts and net economic benefit of the RM2 sub-license, without the required capital outlay and execution risk,” the group said.
LMI represented 7.2% of the group's revenue for the financial year ended 30 September 2024.
LMI is a fully integrated research and development radiopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and globally commercialising innovative molecular imaging agents for use in PET-CT diagnostics.
LMI globally manufactures its patented radiopharmaceuticals with manufacturing partners at 37 sites. It is established in the EU, UK and USA and has built relationships with manufacturers, hospitals, imaging centres and neurologists in key markets.
The proposed transaction is subject to the fulfilment or waiver of certain conditions precedent as agreed in the sale and purchase agreement, and Life Healthcare expects the completion date of the proposed transaction to occur during the second half of 2025.
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