Evotec's Unlikely Alliance: An Activist Chooses Partnership Over Confrontation as Restructuring Accelerates

Evotec faces activist investor cooperation, steep Q1 revenue drop, and €116M bond issue to fund €75M cost-cutting plan ahead of June 11 AGM.

The Hamburg-based drug discovery group Evotec is heading into its annual general meeting on June 11 with a mix of governance changes, an activist investor choosing cooperation over conflict, and a fragile operational rebound still awaiting concrete evidence. The company is betting heavily on a second-half recovery, but the first quarter has already laid bare the scale of the challenge.

MAK Capital, which has amassed a 7.1% stake in Evotec through open-market purchases worth approximately €73.3 million, has formally tied its hands. Rather than escalating into a public battle, the hedge fund entered into a cooperation agreement on April 29 that sees Evotec nominate Dr. Wolfgang Hofmann as an independent board member and Dieter Weinand as the future chairman. The supervisory board will expand from six to seven members, giving MAK a voice without forcing a fight. MAK chief Michael A. Kaufman praised the "constructive dialogue" and referenced the ongoing transformation at Evotec.

That transformation is both urgent and expensive. In the first quarter alone, revenue slid nearly 22% to €156.6 million – weighed down by a tough comparison with last year's one-off Sandoz license sale and currency headwinds. The adjusted EBITDA swung to a loss of €21.9 million from a €3.1 million profit a year earlier, while the net loss widened to €121.9 million, or €0.69 per share. CEO Christian Wojczewski attributes the weakness to those factors plus operational hiccups in parts of the business.

Yet the company has not flinched from its full-year forecast. Evotec still expects revenue between €700 million and €780 million and an adjusted EBITDA ranging from zero to €40 million, with management insisting the turnaround will take hold in the second half. The path to those numbers runs through "Project Horizon," a sweeping cost-cutting programme that will shutter sites in Munich, Abingdon, Lyon and Framingham, reduce the headcount by as many as 800 people, and generate around €75 million in annual savings by the end of 2027.

To fund this restructuring, Evotec issued convertible bonds in mid-May. The notes carry a total nominal value of €116.1 million, bear a coupon of 2.625%, mature in 2033 and will be redeemed at 110% of par. The conversion price of €6.5313 per share represents a premium of roughly 37.5% over the reference share price of €4.75. Existing shareholders' pre-emptive rights were waived. Net proceeds are earmarked exclusively for Project Horizon.

The capital structure is not the only piece being reshuffled. Claire Hinshelwood took over as CFO in May, bringing more than three decades of experience, most recently as group CFO of the BMI Group. The company also expects to rejoin the MDAX index in June 2026, a move that should boost visibility among institutional investors and index-tracker funds.

Equity markets have taken some notice. Evotec shares traded at €5.12 on Thursday, up 3.5% on the day. That marks a recovery of about 21% from the March low of €4.14, but the stock still sits roughly 38% below its 52-week high of €8.32. The technical picture is mixed: the RSI at 60.6 suggests neutral territory, while the share price is fractionally above its 50-day moving average but well below the 200-day line.

A significant part of the transformation is already in the rear-view mirror. The sale of the Just-Evotec Biologics site in Toulouse to Sandoz closed on December 5, 2025, generating around $350 million in cash plus the potential for more than $300 million in milestone and license payments, along with royalties on up to ten biosimilars. That deal has given Evotec greater financial flexibility and a less capital-intensive business model.

With liquidity of €444.8 million at the end of March – slightly down from year-end – the company has some cushion. But the market will be watching the AGM closely for signs that the expanded board will sharpen capital allocation, accelerate Horizon, and begin to translate the promised second-half recovery into actual numbers. For now, the narrative remains one of hope backed by structural change and a handshake with an activist who has chosen the boardroom rather than the battlefield.