…To the tune of $900 million (-ish), according to sources close to the situation. That’s two in the bag for Cypress this week after cementing a deal to sell modular space maker Williams Scotsman to Europe’s Algeco for a cool $2.2 billion.

By Teri Buhl of Dealmaker

Carlyle Group and Cypress Group are nearing a deal to sell New Jersey-based MedPointe to European pharma conglomerate Meda for roughly $900 million, sources close to the situation told Dealmaker.

The buyout firms are finalizing an agreement to sell the closely held specialty pharmaceutical company to Swedish-based Meda in a cash-and-stock deal. If talks stay on track—the deal was apparently still the final negotiation stages Thursday night – an agreement could be announced as early as today. A Carlyle spokesman declined to comment. Cypress officials could not be reached.

MedPointe, based in Somerset, N.J., specializes in respiratory, allergy and central-nervous-system drugs. The company is best known for allergy medicine Astelin and Optivar, which treats pink eye.

MedPointe was created in 2001, when Washington D.C.-based Carlyle and New York-based Cypress teamed up with a group of healthcare executives to acquire the pharmaceutical unit of Carter-Wallace for $408 million, later changing its name to MedPointe. A few years later, another private equity firm, Ferrer Freeman & Company, LLC, invested in the company. If the deal is finalized, the two firms are poised to earn almost twice their initial investment.

The expected sale of MedPointe should help build momentum for Cypress, which this week sealed a deal to sell modular space maker Williams Scotsman to Europe’s Algeco for $2.2 billion. The firm, sources said, has been struggling to raise its third fund in the wake of partner turnover and underperforming investments in earlier funds. The sale of their portfolio companies may help put them on better footing with their investors.

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