Lonza has entered into a definitive agreement to divest its Capsules & Health Ingredients (CHI) business to Lone Star Funds for an enterprise value of CHF 2.3 billion (USD 3 billion), marking the final step in the company’s strategic transformation into a pure-play contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
Under the terms of the deal, Lonza will receive upfront cash proceeds of CHF 1.7 billion (USD 2.2 billion) and retain a 40 percent stake in CHI, with additional preferential participation in a future exit. Total undiscounted proceeds at full exit are expected to reach at or above CHF 3 billion (approximately USD 4 billion). The company recently also announced changes to the composition of its Board of Directors as part of its ongoing governance transformation.
Lonza Completes Pure-Play CDMO Transformation
The CHI divestment complements several other recent portfolio moves by Lonza, including agreements to divest the Personalized Medicines business (the Cocoon® Platform) to Octane Medical Group, the MODA® software platform to the parent company of STARLIMS Corporation, and the small molecules micronization site in Monteggio, Switzerland, to Microsize and Schedio Group. As a result, Lonza now operates across three complementary and integrated CDMO Business Platforms.
“With the sale of CHI and the three other recent divestments, in less than two years we have reshaped our company and activated our vision of One Lonza as a pure-play CDMO.”
— Wolfgang Wienand, CEO, Lonza
Lonza Capital Allocation and Shareholder Returns
Lonza plans to invest the upfront proceeds into organic growth opportunities aligned with its One Lonza Strategy, targeting low teens CER sales growth at expanding margins. Additionally, CHF 500 million will be returned to shareholders through a share buyback following receipt of proceeds. The company expects its leverage to be materially below target levels after the transaction, given the moderation of capital expenditures to mid-to-high teens percentages of sales.
Financial Impact and Outlook
Lonza estimates an extraordinary non-cash impairment of around CHF 1.3 billion related to CHI goodwill in its Financial Year 2025 statements, to be published on April 1, 2026. This effect will be allocated to discontinued operations and will not impact CORE EBITDA of continuing operations. Lonza‘s continuing CDMO business generated sales of CHF 6.5 billion with a CORE EBITDA of CHF 2.1 billion in full-year 2025.
BofA Securities and Centerview Partners acted as joint financial advisors to Lonza. For more information, visit Lonza.
