Evotec soars on Triton's near 10% stake, report it weighs buyout bid (updated)

Evotec SE

11/11/2024 12:15

(Updates share move and milestone, adds Triton response and
takeover report in paragraphs 1-4, background in paragraphs 6-7)
       Nov 11 (Reuters) - Shares in Evotec  EVTG.DE  soared 22%
on Monday after private equity firm Triton confirmed a close to
10% stake in the German drug development company, and a media
report said it was weighing a takeover bid.
    Triton now holds a 9.99% stake in Evotec, making it its
biggest shareholder, the companies told Reuters.
    Bloomberg News reported that Triton was exploring a
potential buyout, citing people familiar with the matter.
    Triton and Evotec declined to comment on the Bloomberg
report.
    Evotec said earlier on Monday that Triton building a stake
had no impact on its day-to-day operations, after regulatory
filings showed it had raised its stake to 3% on Nov. 4 and to 9%
as of Nov. 5.
    Evotec's other major shareholders are Novo Nordisk
 NOVOb.CO  parent Novo Holdings and Mubadala Investment.
    Triton's other investments range from pharmaceutical
companies Bormioli Pharma and Clinigen to tank gearbox
manufacturer Renk  R3NK.DE .
    If Monday's gains hold, the Evotec shares will see their
biggest daily increase since April 2003. The session's gains
narrowed its year-to-day losses to around 56%, from 64% at
Friday's close.

 (Reporting by Isabel Demetz in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi)
 ((Isabel.Demetz@thomsonreuters.com;))