Chanelle Pharma – one of the great success stories in Galway’s pharmaceutical history – has been sold by its founder Michael H Burke to Exponent, a leading private equity firm.

And while the terms of the sale have not been disclosed, earlier reports suggested a price in the region of €300 million for the business.

Headquartered in Loughrea, Chanelle Pharma is Ireland’s largest indigenous manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals for animal and human health.

Founded in 1985 by Michael H Burke, Chanelle Pharma employs over 730 people in Ireland, the UK, Europe and Jordan and is internationally recognised as a leader in the global generics pharma industry.

The sale of Chanelle Pharma also marks the end of an era as Michael H Burke will retire from the business on completion of the sale, which is subject to approval from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

“Having dedicated my life to building Chanelle Pharma into a global company, I have decided the time is right to allow new owners to lead the company into its next phase of growth,” said Mr Burke.

“I am very pleased that Exponent is acquiring Chanelle Pharma.  They value the heritage of our company and share our ethos and vision.  They have the expertise and resources to grow Chanelle Pharma with new investment across all our operations,” he added.

This week’s announcement confirmed that Chanelle Pharma will remain an Irish managed company with the current management team remaining in place.

Caption: Michael H Burke,

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