Australian rival to buy Talecris

Plant in Clayton isn't likely to close

Talecris Biotherapeutics, one of the Triangle's largest biotechnology companies, agreed to be bought by a bigger rival, CSL Ltd. of Australia, for $3.1 billion.

Talecris, which employs about 2,100 people at its Research Triangle Park headquarters and a manufacturing plant in Clayton, confirmed the deal late Tuesday after notifying employees and after CSL, which is traded on the Australian stock exchange, issued a statement.

Rumors of the deal have been circulating for months.

"The opportunity for our employees, customers, distributors, suppliers -- and most importantly our patients -- to benefit from being part of the CSL family is exciting," said Lawrence Stern, Talecris' chairman and chief executive, in a prepared statement. "At the same time, the transaction represents a good return for our shareholders, many of whom are our employees."

But it could bring some pain.

The deal marks the end of a major corporate headquarters in this region and will likely mean job cuts for Talecris' local work force.

CSL is unlikely to close the Talecris plant in Clayton because of the drugs it produces, said Andrew Goodsall, an analyst who follows the company for UBS Securities. But CSL will want to cut some costs to make the acquisition pay off, and that could mean layoffs in areas such as administration and sales.

Talecris makes drugs and other products from blood plasma to treat diseases such as immune deficiency disorders and hemophilia. It also owns a chain of plasma collection centers. Last year, it reported revenue of $1.2 billion.

By buying Talecris, CSL is betting the combined company will be able to capture a bigger share of the expanding market for plasma-based medicines, now a $7 billion-a-year market.

Talecris was formed in 2005 after two investment firms purchased Bayer's blood-plasma business. Those owners had filed plans in July 2007 to take Talecris public through an initial public offering of stock.

But that Wall Street debut stalled as stock-market turmoil dampened investors' appetite for risky IPOs.

An IPO filing can be part of a strategy to sell a company, said Jim Verdonik, a Durham securities lawyer. "Especially if there have been preliminary talks with a potential buyer, it is a means to put pressure on the buyer and increase the purchase price."

And a sale provides a quick, and rich, return for Talecris' investors.

New York buyout firm Cerberus Capital Management and Ampersand Ventures, a Wellesley, Mass., venture capital firm bought the company for $303.5 million three years ago. In December 2006, they completed a restructuring that extracted nearly $800 million in cash dividends from the company.

In buying Talecris, CSL also will assume the company's $1.3 billion in debt.

The purchase still requires regulatory approval. If the deal isn't approved within a year, CSL or Talecris can call if off.