Mayne Pharma Group Ltd. has entered an agreement to acquire Metrics, Inc. for $120 million, including $105 million at closing, and a $15 million earn-out payable for Metrics’ performance through June 2013.

Metrics, based in Greenville, NC, develops and manufactures niche generic drugs and provides contract development services to the pharma industry, with expertise in formulating complex oral drug products, including highly potent and unstable compounds, controlled substances and products with poor bioequivalence. Metrics has a pipeline of 11 generic drugs in various stages of development, including two that have been filed with the FDA and nine products to be filed by the end of 2013. The company has approximately 300 employees and had sales of $51.6 million for the year ended June 30, 2012, much of that coming from the CDMO business.

Mayne Pharma’s chief executive officer, Scott Richards, said, “Metrics is highly complementary to Mayne Pharma’s existing business in term of its products, services and the markets in which it operates. In addition to providing scale in the US market, Metrics brings additional technical capabilities and material upside from cross-selling revenue opportunities. We have known Metrics’ senior management team for some time and they have a solid track record of success in the U.S. generics industry.”

Metrics will continue to be led by its current senior management team, and will continue to operate out of its Greenville facilities. According to a press statement, “The only change to Metrics’ business will be new access to enhanced resources, operational best practices and intellectual capital that will provide significant upside and opportunity for increased levels of success for Metrics, Mayne Pharma and the customers the two companies serve.”

Metrics’ chief executive officer, Phil Hodges, commented, “Over the past 18 years, Metrics has built a high quality operation with two different yet complimentary faces: a contract services business and a niche generic product development business. Mayne Pharma offers a unique strategic fit for Metrics that will allow our combined companies to become a global specialty pharma and development services group.“

Mayne Pharma is an Australian specialist pharma company with an intellectual property portfolio built around the optimization and delivery of oral dosage form drugs. Fairmount Partners, a U.S. based specialist investment bank with expertise in pharmaceutical services, represented Metrics and its shareholders in its consideration of Mayne and other potential buyers. Neal McCarthy, managing director of Fairmount, was responsible for managing the transaction.