Industry & Business

Grifols, has acquired a 49 per cent stake in the US-based Interstate Blood Bank for $100 million. The Spanish healthcare company recently moved its corporate treasury activities from Barcelona to Dublin.

The company has also entered into an option agreement to purchase the remaining 51 per cent stake for an additional $100 million, and has agreed to pay $10 million to exercise the call option.

Grifols announced  140 jobs with a new $100 million investment in its biosciences division global operations centre in Dublin last October. It followed this up last month with a further €85 million investment in the Dublin plant.

The principal business of the Memphis-headquartered IBB is the collection of plasma for the plasma fractionation industry. The deal for the company is expected to close within a month once clearance from US anti-trust authorities has been granted.

Grifols announced 2015 revenues that rose 17.3 per cent to €3.95 billion with net profit up 13.2 per cent to €532 million.

Full-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) was up 11 per cent to €1.16 billion with an ebitda margin of 29.5 per cent.