St. Louis-based Mallinckrodt closed the $690 million sale of its nuclear imaging division to IBA Molecular, a national supplier of radiopharmaceutical products.

IBA Molecular (IBAM) will take over production facilities and offices across the globe, including manufacturing facilities in the St. Louis area that employ 350 people.

"The divestiture of our nuclear imaging business is another important step toward the evolution of our portfolio," said Mark Trudeau, president and CEO of Mallinckrodt. "Our nuclear imaging business is an excellent strategic fit for the IBAM organization, and we believe the expanded global reach of the combined business will enable IBAM to substantially increase its ability to meet the needs of patients around the world. With this transaction, we are pleased to welcome IBAM to the St. Louis area."

Mallinckrodt’s nuclear imaging portfolio includes production of molybdenum-99, the precursor isotope to the widely used technetium-99, used in some 80 percent of nuclear imaging procedures in the U.S. The molybdenum supply chain is complex, owing to its short half-life and elderly production reactors prone to maintenance shutdowns—none of which are located in the U.S.

IBAM will rebrand their businesses across the globe to reflect their added manufacturing footprint and production capacity, but both firms will continue to do business as IBAM and Mallinckrodt until a later date. According to a company release, the deal’s $690 million figure consists of $574 million of up-front considerations, the assumption of $39 million of long-term obligations and $77 million of contingent considerations.

The deal received approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, allowing it to be completed well within the first-half 2017 time frame put forth when the deal was announced last August.  

"We have created a new world-class nuclear imaging business," said Renaud Dehareng, CEO of IBAM, said. "We have over 1,500 skilled employees across four continents, an unrivalled global manufacturing footprint comprising 21 leading-edge production facilities, a commercial presence in over 60 countries serving more than 6,000 customers and very complementary product portfolios and technical capabilities. Cumulatively, we have over 100 years of experience in nuclear medicine. All of this sets us apart and will allow us to deliver superior, sharply focused service to our customers reliably every day."