Permira Makes Big Bet on Blood Plasma With Kedrion, BPL Deals

Private equity firm Permira is making a big bet on the promise of medicines derived from blood plasma with a move to acquire two major companies in the sector.

Permira is teaming up with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to buy Italian family-run drugmaker Kedrion Biopharma, it said in a statement Thursday. They will also purchase U.K. blood-plasma firm Bio Products Laboratory Ltd. and combine the two businesses to form a company with 1.1 billion euros ($1.25 billion) of annual sales and more than 4,000 employees globally.

The merged group will offer therapies derived from human blood plasma to ...