Lonza Group (LONN.S): Lonza to acquire 5 US CDMO sites, filling some key gaps

This morning, Lonza announced that it has agreed to acquire 5 CDMO sites from Merck KGaA in the US. The acquisition would mean Lonza would have 9 sites in the US (from 4 currently). Lonza's FY26 guidance, and the organic growth model discussed at the company's CMD are unchanged. The sites fill some gaps across the Lonza portfolio, including US-based bioconjugation and linker capabilities and, in Cell & Gene therapies, expansion into viral vectors, where Lonza's current network is focused on cell therapies. Lonza noted that the deal will be growth accretive, with sales in the first full year post-close (2028) of around CHF250m, and that this deal will be significantly ahead of the 1:1 investment to peak sales ratio, which also suggests that the deal will likely be ROIC accretive by the time it reaches peak sales. The key now for Lonza is to improve utilisation rates in order to deliver on the mid-term targets. No immediate additional CapEx is required, and given the respective markets a