Monday, July 23, 2007

Carlyle Sells MedPointe for Nearly Double

The Carlyle Group agreed to sell MedPointe Pharmaceuticals to Swedish Pharmaceutical company Meda AB for $520 million in cash and 17.5 million shares of the parent corporation.

The private equity underwriter purchased the firm in 2001 for $408 million. This gives the company a $112 million profit and 17.5 million shares trading recently at $16.32. Add the $285 million in stock and the deal comes to $805 million or a profit of some $400 million. It seems Carlyle pulled a double from their initial investment in 2001. Yet another splashy entry!

So how much do the Bush capital gains tax cuts save on a $400 million profit? That would be $20 million not entering the treasury to pay for childrens health care. Let's see MedPointe can sell eye and nasal allergy medications to kids but their parent company needs a break on capital gains taxes? What about the real parents struggling to provide for their kids health?

Carlyle is allergic to taxes, can someone invent a medication to treat that disease?