Apotex raising IPO size to $1.3-billion on strong investor demand, source says
Get the Finance newsletter
Daily finance — markets, central banks, M&A, the prints that move money. Free.
- Apotex Health Corp. is increasing its IPO to $1.3-billion from a planned $1-billion, pricing shares at $24 — the top of its $20–$24 marketing range — on the TSX, with trading set to begin Wednesday after a post-close announcement Tuesday.
- Selling shareholders, led by private equity backer SK Capital Partners, will offload $450-million in stock (triple the $150-million originally planned); the remaining $850-million flows to Apotex specifically to pay down debt.
- The deal is the largest Canadian IPO since Definity Financial Corp.'s $1.4-billion offering in 2021, a notable bright spot for Toronto's capital markets, which have struggled to attract new listings since the pandemic-era tech IPO wave.
- Apotex's total debt has more than doubled to $2.9-billion as of March 31, and in July 2025 the company recapitalized and paid a $1.1-billion dividend to certain shareholders — a balance-sheet dynamic new public investors are now absorbing.
- The IPO lands amid Nasdaq turbulence: the tech-heavy index fell nearly 1 per cent Tuesday and is down roughly 5 per cent over the past five days, a context the source flags as potential pressure on Apotex's first trading sessions.
- Apotex is Canada's largest drug manufacturer, founded in 1974 by the late Barry Sherman, with 6,500 global employees, 25 billion doses produced annually, and revenue split nearly evenly between Canada (45%) and the United States (46%).
Why it matters: SK Capital and other shareholders cash out $450-million while Apotex receives $850-million to chip away at a debt load that has more than doubled to $2.9-billion in two years — and the company paid a $1.1-billion dividend to certain insiders in July 2025, meaning public buyers are stepping into a PE-engineered capital structure. The timing is also fragile: with the Nasdaq down roughly 5 per cent over five days, Apotex's debut on the TSX faces an unfriendly tape.
