EMS wins bid and buys Medley for over R$3 billion.

The NC Group, which controls the pharmaceutical company EMS, owned by businessman Carlos Sanchez, won the sale process carried out by the French company Sanofi and became the new owner of Medley. The Sanchez family company paid US$600 million (R$3.175 billion) for the generic drug brand, a value higher than the initially projected US$500 million.

The market already saw the Sanchez family's pharmaceutical company with a slight advantage in the competition, having submitted one of the highest offers among the candidates. Aché was also considered a potential buyer, by the Indian company Sun Pharma, which already operates in Brazil with the generic brand Ranbaxy.

EMS's advantage lay in the synergy of the business, especially in relation to logistics, since Medley's factory in Campinas (SP) is less than 20 kilometers from the industrial park of the company developed by Carlos Sanchez, in Hortolândia (SP).

EMS, however, has already demanded a new factory and will build a new unit for Medley, in addition to its existing manufacturing plant in Campinas. The location will depend not only on approval from CADE (Brazil's antitrust authority) but also on the course of tax reform.

The company is also deciding to expand the product portfolio of the newly acquired generic drug brand.

As NeoFeed exclusively revealed in February, the entire Medley staff will be retained. CEO Lucia Rossato remains in charge of the generic drug company's operations, even with the change in ownership.

With no debt, EMS's parent company intends to use the majority of its own cash reserves to make the payment to the French. The expectation is that 75% will be private capital and 25% will come from bank financing.

In 2025, Medley recorded revenues of R$1.3 billion, with EBITDA close to R$200 million. Sanofi bought a Brazilian pharmaceutical company in 2009 from the Negrão family for R$1.5 billion.

The NC Group closed 2025 with revenue of approximately R$ 10 billion. EMS represents the largest share of the group. With Medley, the conglomerate will become a company with revenue close to R$ 12 billion and should expand its leadership in the generics market, which is already held by EMS.

The two operations will be maintained independently. The contract was signed on the morning of Friday, March 6, and is now under review by the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade).