GTCR has struck a €4.1bn deal to acquire Zentiva from Advent International, marking Europe’s second major private equity-backed generics transaction in recent weeks, the FT reports.

The sale follows CapVest’s €10bn acquisition of Stada, highlighting the growing consolidation of the European pharmaceuticals market.

Advent acquired Zentiva, Sanofi’s former generics unit, in 2018 for €1.9bn. The sale delivers a strong return for the firm after seven years of ownership. Based in Prague, Zentiva traces its origins to a centuries-old pharmacy and today supplies over-the-counter medicines such as paracetamol and co-codamol to more than 100m patients across 35 European markets. The company aims to serve one in five Europeans by the end of the decade.

Chicago-based GTCR, which oversees $46.7bn in assets, has stepped up its healthcare investments and was previously reported to have explored a bid for Stada. Its takeover of Zentiva reinforces private equity’s growing focus on the sector, where global dealmaking totalled $198bn by the end of August, up 2% year on year, according to LSEG data.

Advent declined to comment on the transaction, while GTCR did not immediately respond.

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