(Bloomberg) -- Astorg Partners is nearing a deal to buy contract drug development and manufacturing company CordenPharma for more than 2.5 billion euros ($2.6 billion), according to people familiar with the matter.

An agreement could be announced as soon as this week, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. The French private equity firm is set to beat out competition from rival buyout houses for Germany-based CordenPharma, the people.

Advent International and Apax Partners were among other firms exploring a takeover of the company, Bloomberg News reported previously. Astorg declined to comment while Corden wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Started in 2006, CordenPharma runs facilities across the U.S. and Europe that provide manufacturing and packaging services for pharmaceutical ingredients and drug products. It has an agreement with Moderna Inc. to produce an ingredient of its Covid-19 vaccine at CordenPharma facilities in Switzerland, France and Colorado.

The firm is an arm of International Chemical Investors Group, the holding company started by dealmaker Patrick Schnitzer and German chemical industry veteran Achim Riemann. William Blair is advising on the sale of CordenPharma.

Flush with investor cash, buyout firms have been spending big in Europe. The value of private equity deals targeting European companies has nearly doubled this year to about $162 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Astorg was formed in 1998 and manages about 15 billion euros of assets, according to its website.

The health-care sector has been particularly active for dealmaking. Last month, European investment firm Groupe Bruxelles Lambert SA agreed to buy health-care services firm Affidea, while in March Carlyle Group Inc. and PAI Partners struck a deal to buy women’s health business Theramex from CVC Capital Partners.

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