Novo Nordisk Shareholder Buys Catalent for $16.5 Billion (1)

Novo Nordisk A/S struck a deal that will allow the Danish drugmaker to respond to surging demand for its weight-loss drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic.

Novo’s biggest shareholder is buying Catalent Inc., one of the world’s largest drug-manufacturing companies, for $16.5 billion, including debt. In a three-way arrangement, Novo will pay the holder $11 billion to get three of Catalent’s factories acquired in the deal.

Novo is racing to build a more robust supply chain after facing shortages of both its Wegovy and Ozempic shots. Competition is heating up between Novo and Eli Lilly & Co., whose ...