Thanks for having joined this webcast. I think it goes without saying that we are truly excited to be here and to talk to you about this transaction. It has been in the making for a long time, and we are really looking forward now to share some more details with you. We will have a short presentation followed by a Q&A. With that, Marcel, over to you.
Good morning, everybody. Happy to meet you, to talk with you, and I'm really, really, truly excited about this accomplishment that we have to deal now. It took some time, but for Siegfried, it's really a big step forward. I would like to share with you some insight: what does this mean for Siegfried, and what are the benefits, and why is this target so important to us? First of all, I think it's a compelling manufacturing capacity at a very attractive price. We will come later on, and also Reto will dip in there as well to share with you more insights. We have signed the binding agreement for the two sites in the U.S.A. and one in Australia. Of course, for us, this was a target which we really want to have because the U.S. market is absolutely crucial.
It's growing, and also with the current environment, the key market for us to expand. I think also here it took some time, as already outlined, but this will definitely change our footprint in the U.S. because we are really passing now the critical size in the U.S., local to local. Also, due to the strong balance sheet what we have, we will finance through existing and new debt instruments. Also here, Reto will give you a little bit more insights related to that. However, I think, as always, and I'm saying for Siegfried, sometimes we are a very boring company because it's the same deal like in the past. We went for a value-accretive acquisition, and also the price, already what I can tell you, is really in favor of us, also according to the target.
More important, we don't have any dilution on the bottom line, so no dilution for our existing EBITDA. Now, also to make the link back to our strategy, as you know, and also the market trends, we were reviewing over the last years, not only months, what's the current setup, especially for drug substance small molecules. I highlighted that also in the past that there are not many targets available or also locations in the U.S. to fulfill this new demand which is coming through. When I was listening also to our biggest customers, they were asking me over the last months, especially since the last, over the last 12 months, can you further support also capacity out of U.S. for U.S.?
As you can see at the right side, constrained supply, there are just 15 large-scale chemical CDMO sites in the U.S., and believe me, not many of them are in a good state. So status quo for us was really important to find the right one. Of course, you can also read and hear that many greenfield expansions are going on. However, this will take a long time. So we have really a time slot over the next six years to jump in and to be the supplier, the preferred supplier for the U.S. market. And it's in line. So still ongoing outsourcing trend in the pharma industry is ongoing, as already shared with you in the past, and especially for the small and mid-sized pharmaceutical company, they need to have a service provider who can provide the full service from early development up to commercial.
Siegfried is one of maybe five CDMOs who is able to provide this. About the three sites, the locations which we bought, we started several months ago, and believe me, it took a lot of time, but also to do a proper due diligence. I was already last April in Wilmington to visit the site to see the assets because assets are absolutely crucial if you want to expand the exclusive business. And what I saw there was really a strong, a good site with very proper assets in good condition. And also, of course, due to the fact that prior to SK Capital to Noramco, this site and this location was also belonging to a big pharmaceutical company which is called J&J.
This means processes in place, which is crucial, well maintained, highly automated, and this was also then for us really important to see this is fit for purpose for the exclusive business. There we have three product families: the addiction treatment and prevention, the ADHD portfolio, as well as the pain management. The site has approximately 185 FTEs, as already outlined, high quality, and a multi-purpose site, which is familiar with all needed and common synthesis, chemical synthesis step what we need to have to provide the service to our customers. The second site is in Purisys in Athens in Georgia. Strong people which I met there as well. Strong chemists which are really in favor to do early development activities, clinical and small-scale manufacturing, and they are really focused and specialized in highly regulated compounds and especially also for niche products. Also here, they are working currently 45 FTEs.
It's complementary to the Grafton site, and it's not somehow in competition with Grafton. This is also important because Purisys is even stronger at the early phase compared to Grafton. Grafton is then in phase one, phase two, phase three to be. The third one is the Extractas Bioscience facility in Tasmania, and it's one of the leading manufacturing of purified products. Here we are talking about approximately 170 FTEs, and for us, the benefit is really the backward integration. This is increasing the resilience of the supply chain. Overall, on top of the assets which are really good, really great, I was meeting strong people, people which were already also working for J&J 10 years ago. People are really entrepreneurs. People are hungry to move the needle and to go together with the Siegfried family for a bright future and to develop the business overall. Now, what does this mean?
I think overall, the business what we have there is really stable. Moderate growth, no risk, no hiccups, but a moderate growth. Also, it's somehow a safe and a secure portfolio what we will take over. We are familiar with that also due to the fact that we have in Pennsville some similar products there as well. The proximity of Wilmington and Pennsville is absolutely crucial for us as well. Why? Due to the fact that they're just 20 minutes by car away from each other, we can really get out some synergies. And also from the knowledge point of view, this will help us then also to optimize the portfolio for both sides.
And of course, on top, what we are looking forward then is really to repurpose for innovative products Wilmington because the capabilities which we have there and also the site with the assets will be a differentiator also for our customers for the U.S. supply. Athens and Grafton already outlined. This is to form the best-in-class acceleration hub, what we are calling. So Grafton is the acceleration hub 1.0 and then Athens 2.0. So overall, this is really a complementary and a comprehensive offering what we can now really start from early phase development up to commercial then for the rest of the sites. We will fill further the pipeline for innovative products. We see the demand. We are moving really nicely forward, increasing our pipeline also with early development projects as well. Now, we are passing the critical size.
We have now five sites and close to 700 employees, which is roughly 20% of the entire organization of Siegfried, which is great. Of course, we are also looking then in the U.S. to go for regionalization as well to further gain synergies in the near future. Now, about some multiples and financial insights, I'm handing over to Reto.
Thank you very much, Marcel. Very good morning to all of you. Let me add some technical details to this transaction. I will cover valuation, of course, profitability, the timeline, and of course, also a few technical details on financial impact on 2026 and also beyond, and a few considerations on how we will finance this acquisition. On valuation, Marcel mentioned this, we will be able to acquire this business well below recent expectation for U.S.-based assets. And that's just great. We did it once again. This means that the highly selective discipline approach to M&A has just been well confirmed today. In the graph to the left, you see a few data points, all referring to enterprise value or EBITDA. Firstly, our own trading multiple, somewhere between 13x and 16x. In the middle, you see recent sellers' expectation for U.S.-based assets.
These are assets which we have considered ourselves. Some of these assets have been in the press, so you can Google for them, CDMO US, for example, in the FT. Then lastly, you see the valuation that we have now paid and will be paid for this acquisition at hand, well below 10x. Again, discipline and value are creative. Obviously, why did we pay 10x? Marcel mentioned that it's a stable portfolio, and that's the price that you pay for that. Now, obviously important, we are now in a really unique position to extract value from this transaction. We can optimize the portfolio between the very proximate sites of Pennsville and Wilmington. We can free up capacity in Wilmington and then allocate that free-up capacity, which, as mentioned by Marcel, is in very high demand to valuable innovative compounds in the US. That's immediate.
On profitability, not dilutive. The acquired business trades ahead of Siegfried currently. So we have an immediate impact on profitability on the Siegfried group, and it will not be an adverse one. Now, on timing, that's an important one. The closing is subject to some closing conditions, and we expect to close it later in the year. We don't know exactly when this is going to happen. The revenue and profit clock for Siegfried starts at closing. So the earlier we close, the higher the revenue and profit contribution for 2026. That, of course, also has an impact on how we will provide financial guidance for the financial year 2026. So on February 20th, when we present the 2025 numbers, the transaction will most probably not yet have closed yet. This means that we will guide at that point in time for 2026 without the acquisition impact.
Once the acquisition has closed, we will adjust the guidance to include the acquired business. On financing, we have a strong balance sheet, so we currently expect to finance using existing and also new debt instruments. The selection has not yet taken place. It's too early. It will, of course, you know us, follow strict commercial criteria, and we'll also consider the state of the debt capital markets. Had a really good start into the year, so that makes us very confident. Lastly, the financial impact. How much net sales is this acquisition going to add to the Siegfried Group? Our best guess as of today is that the acquisition will add approximately 10% of current net sales to the group, and that's for a full year. You must consider that Siegfried and also the acquired entities were clients of each other prior to this transaction.
This means that after closing, some revenues on both sides will become internal revenues while the profitability is kept. For the avoidance of doubt, the 10% which I gave you already considers this effect. Again, for the contribution to 2026, this very much depends on the point in time of closing. So I'm excited about this acquisition. It's, I think, at par with BASF in 2016 and the acquisition of the two drug products manufacturing sites from Novartis in Spain in 2021. Back to Marcel.
Thank you very much, Reto, for explaining where we are compared to the expectations and also to share that this is really a highly accurate deal. Now, to bring that back to the strategy, I think was already outlined. Still, one of our top targets was to grow the existing core, small molecules, drug substance, and drug product. Here we are talking about drug substance, and especially the opportunities for us currently are even higher in drug substance for U.S.. That's the reason why also I'm so happy that we made the deal. Independent of that, you never know. Also, I think the strategy overall is still valid. And of course, we have the opportunity now to grow the network in the US, which is absolutely crucial for the demand, what we are looking forward to. So that's in a nutshell. I'm totally happy.
We are happy, excited about this deal. Now let's go for questions and answers. I think there are quite a lot, I believe.
Thank you, Marcel. I'll now start with the Q&A. If you have a question, please raise your hand. I will call your name and we will unmute you. First question is from Laura. Laura, please go ahead. Laura.
Hi, can you hear me now?
Hear you.
Okay, I was probably still on mute. Thanks for taking my question. Maybe the first one is on the Wilmington side. With this 150 cubic meters of capacity, can you please give us an idea on the current capacity utilization you have there? Also on the current profitability with today's portfolio. Is it above the average for the transaction, or is it rather maybe below it? Also thirdly, if you could provide us more details on your plans and timelines for the repurposing towards more innovative products. Thanks.
Yes, I think overall, first of all, the utilization is quite highly utilized, Wilmington. Of course, we still have some capacity available. However, we need to combine that and do the reconciliation then with Pennsville, and we have opportunities. So really to optimize there. And we will free up some quite significant reactor volumes overall for the exclusive business with both sides. So we are talking about roughly 80 cubic meters, which we will have available for our customers. To the second question about the margin, I think already outlined by Reto. So this is in line, in sync with our margin as well. So no dilution with existing portfolios. There is no overlap or any synergies already in. So really straightforward. And I think the third question, timelines. Yes. I think it depends also how fast we can close the deal. However, we can start immediately.
When we are talking about to win additional products or also customers, this can start immediately because you are starting anyway first with the tech transfers, method transfers, and this will take anyway one to two years. So I think the impact should be visible then in two to three years, which will really support in our P&L.
Okay, thank you.
On top of the existing portfolio and revenue and margin, what we are getting there.
Yeah, great. Thank you.
Next question is from Charles Weston. Charles, over to you.
Hi, thanks very much for taking the questions. Across the whole of the sort of Wilmington side, how much of what they do is controlled substances? It kind of looks like all of it. And does Pennsville do controlled substances? And does that make it sort of harder to move products from one to the other? That's my first question.
Yeah, I think yes, because we are customers for each other as well. So we know Noramco very well, Wilmington side, and they know us also very well. So we really know what they are doing, and they know what we are doing. So there is also some overlapping. That's also why we are looking forward also to optimize overall. And we are talking about the product portfolio, what's currently in there. So it's the ATAP, the addiction treatment and prevention in there, the ADHD, and the pain management, what they have currently. But also now we figure out, or we have, of course, already planned what we want to put, what kind of products in Pennsville, and then also for the future in Wilmington.
Okay, thank you. One other question, please. In terms of costs, from a P&L perspective, what should we expect from a cost synergy perspective? And from a capital cost perspective, will this change your capital investment strategy or kind of expectations for the next few years?
Yeah, Charles. I mean, the value potential, the value creation potential clearly is in the repurposing of the Wilmington capacity for innovative business. That's by far the largest lever. Of course, as the two sides are really close together, there will be a little bit of opportunities, but that's not the value levers. In terms of CapEx, we have done the plans, what we will need for the Wilmington side. And as Marcel has mentioned, this is a site which is up to date from an investing point of view. So it has no significant catch-up CapEx needed to bring that up to speed. It's already basically good to go.
Yeah.
Okay, thanks very much. Congratulations.
Thanks, Charles.
Thanks, Charles.
Next question is from Finn. Good morning, Finn.
Hey, good morning, and thanks for taking my questions. I have a follow-up. You said that the margin profile is pretty much in line with the group, and then you spoke about a stable portfolio. Does that mean the current portfolio is not growing in the three sites that you have acquired? And it will only really start to grow once the tech transfer is done that you just mentioned, so in two to three years time? This would be my first question.
Very good question. I think yes, there is a growth, but it's not a significant growth. So I think it's a moderate growth between low single digit, mid single digit. That's what we see in the portfolios and the analysis, by the way. It was not a big deal for us to do because we know the portfolio at the market very well. Why is it so stable? Also, you need to know that you cannot import this kind of drugs to the U.S. It's just local to local. So also from the competitive point of view, this will be not a big change. So this is also why we somehow, or this business is protected also from the external companies outside of the U.S. Now, I think for the three portfolios which we were talking about, we have the ADHD.
There is quite a nice growth in the upcoming years what we see. And then we see for the ATAP, this is a moderate growth and a little bit declining in the pain management overall. In reconciliation, it's a moderate growth, which is good. But this is just one part of the benefits what we are looking for. The more important one is then to gain the new access for the exclusive business in the U.S.
Okay, thank you. That's very helpful. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised that you say the utilization is actually quite good. It's not going to be margin dilutive to the group. There's also no major investments required. So then I'm wondering, frankly, why could you acquire the site at such an attractive price?
Very good question, Finn. This is also the secret of success why we were able to make that happen and also with such a multiple. I think there were more potential buyers in there for sure. However, due to the fact that the market is protected, you need to keep at the end, as a new owner of that, the supply for these drugs. This was unique. Siegfried was most probably the only one who could offer this. That was the unique pro for Siegfried.
Okay, that's very helpful. Thank you. Sorry, one last one, just briefly on the 10% of group contribution in terms of revenue that you mentioned. Can you help us with at what utilization sort of the three sites sit on average? Because in the past, I think with the Novartis sites, the utilization was likely a bit lower. So is it close to optimal utilization already, or how much more room would you see there to increase it further?
Yeah, I think for the U.S., we still have 20% potential growth opportunities, but also here, this is not the end. So that's exactly why we have a big opportunity to optimize that then with our site in Pennsville. And for Australia, we are very what we are looking for really high utilization. So also the demand for 2026 is already sold out.
Okay, very helpful. Thank you very much.
Thanks, Finn.
You're welcome, Finn.
The next question is from Daniel Jelovcan. Danny, over to you.
Yeah, good morning. You hear me?
Yes, we do hear you.
Oh, okay, great. Also congrats. Very nice deal, obviously. So first question is, Noramco also acquired the drug products business from Cambrex. So I guess this is not included, obviously. But it's the same facility, so as I'm or maybe not. So then it's totally irrelevant.
Maybe let me answer first question, Daniel, Danny. Halo is not part of the deal. So this will belong still to SK Capital. So it's really just the drug substance and not the drug product setup.
Not the same location.
Yeah?
It's in the same building.
Yeah, not that they are in totally different locations as well, Danny. So it's really.
Yes, okay. Yeah, that's great. And the other question is, if I look at the internet of Noramco, the facility looks quite different versus a normal small chemical facility. And I'm not a chemist, but I mean, all these addiction treatment, ADHD, and so on, is that a different approach versus your normal advanced small molecule? Or so in other words, I mean, you mentioned it will take some time to repurpose, but I mean, how easy is it? I mean, you have to change a lot of the reactors or the setup or software or whatever. That's the question.
No, Danny, short and simple answer is no. It's exactly the same approach with the reactors. So stainless steel, Hastelloy reactors, MNL reactors. So it's exactly the same. And also what I was sharing already, we can run all common chemical synthesis what we are doing in Sofia, in Rorevia, or all other locations as well. So there is not a big investment to come back also to the CapEx. There are small changes maybe to optimize that, but from the CapEx point of view, it's not relevant what we're looking for. And we are in a position really to gain immediately customers with new products. But we are optimizing then, of course, due to some overlapping stuff then with Pennsville. It makes sense to make sure that we have the best place, the best traits and reactors for each of the process steps and the products.
Last question, thank you. Last question is, all these three product families in Wilmington, which are probably rather low growth, as you said, I mean, do they disappear over time or in favor of more growing newer molecules? Or how can we expect that going forward?
I think they will not for sure. I think the supply needs to be given also to the U.S. patients at the end. This will not disappear at all, for sure. It's, as already outlined, just a moderate growth, and we can absorb that. With the combination and the proximity with Pennsville, we can gain much more out. I think at the end, it's not only Wilmington which will get the benefits. Also our existing Pennsville site will get also quite a lot of benefits on top of it due to the optimization step.
Okay, thank you.
The next question is from Siegfried[Sybiel] Wilhelm. Siegfried, please go ahead.
Thank you very much. Congratulations also from my side. I get the feeling that the focus was very much on Wilmington. But therefore, my question on the Tasmania side, for me, when I think about the MDA for Siegfried, it's not the first, I think, what you did there. Could you say something about it? Was it only a deal for three sites? That's why you took Tasmania just to get Wilmington?
No, I think overall, maybe to elaborate a little bit on Purisys as well as on Extractas in Tasmania as well. Thanks for your question, Siegfried. I think also Purisys, I was meeting their really strong chemists, and they are doing very nicely also development projects for many customers in the U.S. But of course, I think due to the fact they had also some restrictions and limitations from the capacity point of view, I think we can really now free up the full power of Purisys and on top then together in combination with Grafton, which was already part of our Siegfried family. So here also I'm looking forward to this will also help us as well for the future.
Not directly by this site to develop our P&L, however, to fill the pipeline for all other drug substance sites in the US, now Wilmington and Pennsville, but also for the European sites as well. And by the way, also interesting was the culture. When I was meeting these people, the key people in Wilmington in Purisys, but also in Tasmania, these people are really entrepreneurs. They were talking about EBITDA and so on, what's not always common with the big pharmaceutical companies, the colleagues there. Very often they are talking about operational income, but not really directly linked with EBITDA. So I think also from the culture point of view, this is a perfect fit for Siegfried, and I'm really happy to welcome these people quite soon.
To go back to the question to Tasmania, I think this is really beneficial for us as well to have the backwards integration. So also we have the resilience and especially also over the last two, three years, there were quite a shortage also on this kind of product. So also we know what we are talking because also this site in Tasmania is one of our suppliers, and we saw that the demand was so high, it was quite difficult to get also the volumes which we had, which we were looking for. So also it's not just that we had to take over the Tasmania location to get Wilmington or also the two U.S. sites. It's also a very good fit for Siegfried as well. I was also there, so I was prior to Christmas in Tasmania. It was quite a long flight, believe me.
Also interesting to see that. It's also chemical. It's chemical extraction. It's not something absolutely new for us. We are also familiar with this technology and this setup as well.
Thank you. And the other question is about the deal. It seems that you paid a very interesting price. So does it mean that Goodwill Intangibles are lower than a normal deal? And could you say something about the whole amount and how much would be Goodwill Intangible and Property, Plant, and Equipment? Or do we have to expect or wait for the annual report where you have to mention it anyway?
Well, Siegfried, it's a fair question. A little too early as we have only signed the deal now. Obviously, the exact figures will depend on the point in time of the closing and the state of the target, also including net working capital, etc., at the point in time of the closing. From today's perspective, we do not expect a badwill, rather a bit of goodwill. How much this is going to be, we will see. We will then, of course, provide transparency and disclosure in the 2026 financial report, which and on the way there, of course. Today, it's still a bit early for this question to be answered exactly.
Thank you.
You're welcome. Next question is from Ed Hall.
Perfect. Can you hear me?
Yeah, we can hear you. Thank you.
Perfect. Good morning, all. Thank you for taking my questions. Just the first one again, back on Wilmington. And could you just tell us a bit more about the repurposing? I'm curious about sort of licenses that you may need to add or capabilities you may need to add. And then maybe just going a bit further, I mean, have you had conversations with clients? Would this be sort of in your eyes in the next two, three years? Would this be internal transfers from Europe to U.S. or incremental contracts? A bit of scope there would be really, really helpful. Thanks.
Yeah, good question. I think the first one, repurposing is a little bit when we are talking about portfolio. So we want to add. That's in a nutshell, the repurposing. So also, maybe just to clarify, repurposing doesn't mean that we have to add to go for CapEx investment or whatever to get the technology in place and so on. This is not needed also to close this question, which is a fair one. So repurposing is a little bit more to go and to look for the exclusive business with this kind of customers what we have anyway. We have many of them in the U.S., but by the way, it's not only U.S. what U.S. customers are looking for a local supply point for U.S..
Also, European customers are looking at the same from the same view, and they're looking also forward to generate such supply points in the U.S. for the U.S. So repurposing is not a big deal. It's something what we have to look in the combination with the optimization then with the Pennsville side. Already we have plans in place. So we are ready also, and I'm really excited. We are ready when we are closing to give full steam then in the execution. We know the portfolio. We know the products. We know the people and happy to start to run as soon as it's closed. Maybe second question then, I think related to the customers, as already shared when I'm meeting our key customers, big pharmaceutical companies, because it's for them not predictable what's coming next. And I think it's also valid independent which administration will be leading then the U.S.
This will not disappear. The customers are really asking now, the regionalization is ongoing. They want to have two supply points in the near future. One supply point is U.S. for U.S., and one supply point will be Europe for the rest of the world, or the second supply point for Asia and Europe as well. So this is really a big advantage for our company and also from the strategic point of view to fulfill the demand and the requests from our customers. That's clearly outspoken when I'm meeting our customers.
Perfect. That's really, really clear. And then maybe just on the second facility in the U.S., in Athens, obviously more of an early stage asset, but I'm curious as to what is the composition of those assets. I see they've got cytotoxic capabilities. I mean, is this the sort of drugs that we should be thinking about coming through the pipeline, or is there any more granularity you could share there that would be really helpful?
Yeah, I think it's in a niche. It's the common synthesis, what they can do. They can also high potency, yes. They can do highly actives as well, managing there. Mainly it's lab. We are working to 45 people that are really working in the lab. This means also then at the early phase. I think then later on for the phase one, phase two, as soon it goes then in this direction, you need to have bigger equipments, what we have in Grafton. So it's really a very comprehensive approach what we can offer now then in the US. And also strong people there as well. So most of these people that were working already there since more than 10 years, that means also they were already scientists in J&J.
They are still working there, so also very low voluntary attrition rate and fully committed to the location, and I think also then for the future.
Perfect. Thanks a lot. Congrats on the deal.
Thanks. Thank you. The next question is from Edward. Edward, please go ahead and ask your question. I don't know how to pronounce your last name, so I just call you by the name of Edward. Are you still on the call? No.
Yeah.
No.
Please go ahead.
I can hear you.
Shit. Oh, sorry.
That's all good.
Right. Of course it would work then. Okay. Just a few points that came out from the Q&A so far. Could you actually just talk about the capacity that's going to be freed up in Tasmania that's now available to Siegfried? Because you were talking earlier in one of your answers about a slight sort of not exactly bottlenecking, but certain friction with regard to supply. So how does that change the position for yourself there? Another one is on the working capital profile of the acquired businesses versus what you actually have for yourself at group level. And then knowing the knowledge you have of the assets acquired, the timeframe, is there a significant compression versus if you were taking this as new as opposed to having a knowledge base already? Those at the start.
Yeah. Maybe I can be the star on the net working capital level. As mentioned, we will know much more when we close the current situation then, but obviously the operations, be it Purisys, be it Wilmington, we know quite well, and they will not behave totally different than other drug substances manufacturing sites that we already own. Then you asked around freeing up capacity in Tasmania. That's not what we're going to do. We're going to free up capacity in Wilmington. So that's the plan. Tasmania is in Australia and is a backward integrated supply chain into raw materials. So there we have no plans to do that. Then on the timeframe, on the repurposing, I think we touched upon that already. That's somewhere between two and four years until we have capacities available in Wilmington for innovative high-value compounds manufactured in the U.S. for U.S. clients.
Maybe to add, then, on the third question, I think it was also related to the capabilities. This is really also a very important dimension. I think to build up something from a greenfield, and then you need to, first of all, to do the construction qualification validation. Then you need to find the people. It's not so easy. And this is really a big advantage to get the momentum very fast because the people which I met there are strong people, strong scientists, strong chemists. And this was also one of the key acceptance criteria for us that we are moving as fast as possible with this potential deal in the past.
Okay. And two quick other questions then. Just on the sites acquired, with regard to your European capacity and the integration of those working with your existing pharmaceutical customers, just to give an idea how you're going to sort of get the synergies out of this network now?
Yeah, I think it's in, of course, it's very comprehensive at the end, and it's not in contradiction with the European location. So this is absolutely important. Why? I think as already outlined, our customers are looking for two supply points. So either we can offer something from the U.S. or we are losing then this business in the U.S. So that's an advantage and why this deal is so important for us. So there is no contradiction at the end also for our sites here in Europe because the European sites we are supplying for the rest of the world, for all other countries, for all customers. As I outlined, I think it's independent from which countries our customers are coming from.
My last question was going back to the beginning of your presentation. You talked about the quality of the assets you've acquired versus actually some of the competitors in the marketplace. If you actually look at your competitive positioning now post-integration, what do you actually see the opportunities to opening up a greater commercial sphere of influence for yourselves versus where you stand now?
I think the big opportunity what we see, we were quite limited with the drug substance commercial production in the US. That's, of course, that Wilmington is really now a big game changer for us because with this additional 150 cubic meter reactor volume, and I think at the end, more than 80% or 50% we can use then for the exclusive business, this is a significant step change for us. And to bring that into context, we were reviewing a lot of assets, and believe me, also our customers are looking at many of these potential targets, how to overcome the situation. But very often you do the effect, especially for drug substance molecules, is a different story compared to finished drug substance biologics or all other modalities because over the last three decades, more or less all production for drug substance molecules disappeared from the US.
Everything was transferred to China, to India, or to Europe. Now it's really unique to have such an opportunity, and I'm really, really happy that we won this target due to the fact that we had a unique offer at the end to make the tip.
Okay. I don't know your company, but it looks a fascinating deal. So congratulations. Thank you.
Thanks, Ed.
Thank you.
Great. We are approaching the end of this session. Maybe one last question from Tania and then, yeah, Tania? Tania Anserik, are you still in the call?
Yes. Yes. Sorry. Yeah, it's okay. So one last question, if I may. On the margin trajectory, medium term, how does this change with the acquisition you've made today? Maybe what are the main factors to consider in terms of synergies and then the new contracts for exclusive synthesis that you aim to gain with the repurposing of capacity, pricing, things like that?
Yeah. No, it's a fair question. I mean, we described the status quo today, and that's at par. So not margin dilutive, rather margin accretive. And obviously, if we're able to increase the sales quantum by optimizing the capacity between Pennsville and Wilmington and welcoming new business in a structurally attractive area, exclusive drug substances in the U.S., for which is high demand, you could expect high valuable business. So the margin is and will be going up on a substantial part of our business. How much that will be and how it will impact the midterm, as mentioned, a bit too early, but certainly very positive. We will, as mentioned, revert to that once we close the deal.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Congratulations on the deal.
Thank you so much. I think, Charles, you have a follow-up question. That would then be the last question of this Q&A.
Thanks for squeezing me in. Yeah. Could you tell us what the financial leverage will be after the deal closes? And can I just ask a clarification question? If you free up space in Wilmington to sell for new innovative products, are you going to be focused specifically on controlled substances to fill that site, or could that be any small molecule that you want to bring in? Thank you.
No, we are looking forward to bringing exclusive business in. So that's really the ultimate target, what we are fishing for and hunting in the U.S., to bring in these new molecules where the highest demand is for sure.
Yeah. And then on financial leverage, substantially below three, of course. So I mentioned investment grade is incredibly important for us, and we would like to keep that. The operations that we purchase is highly cash generative and obviously also highly profitable. So these adds another cushion. So dry powder after closing, immediately after closing of this transaction will not be zero, but continue to be triple-digit CHF million.
Thanks very much.
You're welcome.
Okay. We have one last question from Muriel Chabot, please go ahead.
Hello. Thank you very much for taking my question. I'm actually from the credit side, so that side of investment management. So I think part of my question was just answered. The second part, so that was on the IG rating. The second part was more if I got it right that you might be looking to refinance or finance these deals through capital markets. And if so, what sort of timing should we be thinking?
Yeah. I mean, obviously, it depends a lot on the point in time when we close, and then, of course, also on the conditions of the debt capital markets at that point in time. It's a little premature, but as you can imagine, we'll now for quite a while follow each of the segments of that specific market quite closely. We'll take then, as soon as we approach that decision point, the best decision for all stakeholders involved.
Many thanks.
You're welcome.
Thank you for dialing in for these exciting times for Siegfried. I think we are closing now.
Yes. We will close the call. Thanks for your being here. Stay tuned. We hopefully see or speak each other again on February 20 when we will announce our full year results. With that, that's all for now. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
Thanks. Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.