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2021/12/16 | ArchiMed buys CARSO, a leader in purity testing for pharma and other industries
In partnership with CAPZA, Siparex, management and founders, ArchiMed aims to accelerate growth through further internationalization and service range expansion.
Trans-Atlantic private equity healthcare specialist ArchiMed announces the purchase from its former shareholders, including private equity firms EMZ Partners, RAISE, Siparex, Unigrains and Etoile Capital, of a majority stake in Lyon-based CARSO through its €1 billion MED Platform I fund. CARSO spun out from France's National Center of Sciences in 1992 as a specialist in the identification of organic pollutants (dioxins). Following years of organic growth and more than a score of acquisitions, CARSO is now France's purity testing leader in pharma, healthcare, the environmental, food and other fields - all related to public safety. Purity testing focuses on common toxins, producing synergies and efficiencies for groups like CARSO that work across industries.
"As a purity testing leader in France, Europe's most developed market, CARSO is ideally placed to consolidate its industry," says ArchiMed Partner, Antoine Faguer. "With ArchiMed's financial backing and industry knowledge, we can take maximum advantage of our existing scale, moving into new areas and offering international clients the kind of one stop-shopping they're looking for in a still fragmented global market," says CARSO founder and Chief Executive Bruno Schnepp.
Bruno Schnepp, whose desire to retire from active management sparked this proprietary deal, keeps a minority stake in CARSO. Two French private equity firms also hold minority stakes in CARSO, CAPZA (largest minority shareholder) and Siparex. Following the sale, Bruno Schnepp will move to a non-operational board position. Replacing him as CEO is Eric Sarfati, formerly President of France at SGS, the largest inspection, verification and testing company in the world. "We're positioned to grow sales and profits well above averages in an industry where some 60 percent of revenues are accounted for by considerably smaller players," says Sarfati. Over the next five years, CARSO and ArchiMed, together with financial partners CAPZA and Siparex, are aiming to double the group's current annual revenues of more than €200 million.
This will not be the first investment in CARSO for Antoine Faguer and Managing Partners Vincent Guillaumot and Denis Ribon. The three formed the core of the 3i global healthcare team that held a minority stake in CARSO between 2005 and 2011. Working closely with Bruno Schnepp and his managers, they helped execute six add-on acquisitions, generating a return in excess of three times 3i's investment.
Tikehau Capital and CARSO's commercial bankers, Crédit du Nord, Arkea, Banque Populaire, LCL and Crédit Agricole, provided debt financing for the deal. MED Platform I owns five additional platforms: Madrid-based SUANFARMA, a manufacturer of APIs and nutraceuticals; Italy-based Bomi Group, Europe's leading healthcare-specialist contract logistics organization; US-based NAMSA, the world's preeminent contract research organization for Medtech; UK-based DHG, a North European leader in hospital equipment; and Stragen, a Swiss-based developer of hard-to-make generic drugs. MED Platform I has invested over 70% of the €1 billion it raised through its final close in August 2020. ArchiMed also manages MED I, currently ranked the best performing buyout fund at a global level for the 2014 vintage, according to Preqin data. MED I has distributed more than four times invested capital to limited partners and has a total return in excess of six times invested capital.
About ArchiMed - www.archimed.group
With offices in the US and Europe, ArchiMed is a leading investment firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industries. Its mix of operational, medical, scientific and financial expertise allows the ArchiMed team to serve as both a strategic and financial partner to European and North American small and middle-market businesses. Prioritized areas of focus include biopharmaceutical products & services, life science tools, medical devices & technologies, diagnostics, healthcare IT and consumer health. ArchiMed helps partners internationalize, acquire, innovate and expand their products and services. Over the last twenty years, ArchiMed's leadership team has directly managed and invested in over eighty small to large-size healthcare companies globally, representing over €50 billion of combined value. ArchiMed manages over €3 billion ($3.4 billion) in healthcare assets across its various funds. Since its inception, ArchiMed has been a committed Impact investor, both directly and through its Eurêka Foundation.
France: Stéphanie du Ché, stephanie.duche@archimed.group, +33 (0)6 16 36 11 08
International: David Lanchner, dlanchner@lanchner.com, +33 (0)6 33 43 50 76
About CAPZA Expansion www.CAPZA.co
CAPZA Expansion specialises in supporting families, entrepreneurs and managers of SMEs in the mid-market segment with a strong capacity for post pandemic acceleration. The team was born out of AXA France's desire to contribute to the revitalisation of the French economy by entrusting CAPZA with a €500 million investment. CAPZA Expansion has the capacity to invest in transactions aimed at strengthening the capital structure. It differentiates itself by a "tailor-made" approach, both in terms of governance as well as financial instruments: equity (ordinary or preferred shares) and quasi-equity (bonds, bonds with share warrants, convertible bonds). CAPZA Expansion is positioned as a minority shareholder of reference, actively involved in transforming and value-creating projects alongside the management, either organically or through external growth operations, relying in particular on CAPZA's European network.
Caroline Karpiel, ckarpiel@CAPZA.co, +33 (0)6 47 62 07 35
Gwenaëlle Boucly, gboucly@CAPZA.co, +33 (0)6 31 77 78 72
About Siparex www.siparex.com
Siparex Group, an independent French specialist in private equity, has €3bn of capital under management. Siparex enjoys substantial organic growth, and has carried out significant acquisitions. The group works to help companies grow and transform. From start-ups to ISEs, it finances and provides support for great entrepreneurial adventures thanks to its different business lines: Innovation under the name of XAnge, Energy Transition (Tilt), Entrepreneurs, Distressed Capital, Mezzanine, Midcap, and ETI. The Group can count on its significant presence across the country and abroad, with 6 offices in France (Paris, Lyon, Nantes, Lille, Strasbourg, and Toulouse), 3 in Europe (Milan, Munich, and Brussels), and partnerships in Africa and North America.
2021/11/18 | ArchiMed buys a majority stake in SUANFARMA a leading manufacturer and distributor of active pharmaceutical and nutraceutical ingredients.
ArchiMed will finance ambitious industry consolidation and organic expansion for SUANFARMA, with the aim of making it the leader of its industry.
Trans-Atlantic private equity healthcare specialist, ArchiMed announces the acquisition of a majority stake of Madrid-based SUANFARMA through its €1 billion MED Platform I fund (MPI). SUANFARMA, founded in 1993, is a manufacturer and distributor of some 890 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and more than 1,100 nutraceuticals, sold in over 70 countries worldwide. Active pharmaceutical ingredients are the therapeutic constituents of drugs. Nutraceuticals are food substances that provide either medical or health benefits.
Ares Management Company provided the debt for the deal. ArchiMed's majority stake is held directly by MPI and through a dedicated co-investment vehicle funded by ArchiMed investors. SUANFARMA founder, Hector Ara, and managers rolled between 50 and 100 percent of their SUANFARMA proceeds back into the firm for a significant, double-digit minority stake.
"Given the increasing outsourcing of API and nutraceutical services, the new strategic need for better global supply chain control and an exceptional number of complex ingredients coming off patent, we see fantastic opportunities for manufacturing and distribution excellence in this sector." says ArchiMed Managing Partner André-Michel Ballester. "SUANFARMA's management has the experience to manage an aggressive consolidation of the fast-growing markets for APIs and nutraceuticals. They've also got that rare level of expertise and industry intelligence to develop a full suite of complex APIs and nutraceuticals at a time when leading pharma companies are looking for one-stop shopping." "ArchiMed is an industry specialist with an appreciation of the unique opportunities we can benefit from," says SUANFARMA CEO Francisco Fernandez. "Allied with them, we've got the resources to be the leading global developer, manufacturer and distributor of active ingredients for the pharma, veterinary and nutritional sectors."
SUANFARMA's net sales - forecast to reach close to €300 million in 2021 - have increased almost 20 percent annually for three years, with an above industry-average EBITDA margin. One priority of ArchiMed and SUANFARMA management is accelerating sales and profit growth by sourcing more vital ingredients globally. This will reduce the long-distance supply chains that caused drug shortages in Western markets during the Covid-19 pandemic.
MPI owns four additional platforms: Italy-based Bomi Group, Europe's leading healthcare-specialist contract logistics organization; US-based NAMSA, the world's preeminent contract research organization for Medtech; UK-based DHG, a North European leader in hospital equipment; and Stragen, a Swiss-based developer of hard-to-make generic drugs. With SUANFARMA's purchase, MPI has invested over 70% of the €1 billion it raised through its final close in August 2020. ArchiMed also manages MED I, currently ranked the best performing buyout fund at a global level for the 2014 vintage, according to Preqin data. MED I has distributed more than four times invested capital to limited partners and has a total return in excess of six times invested capital.
With offices in the US and Europe, ArchiMed is a leading investment firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industries. Its mix of operational, medical, scientific and financial expertise allows the ArchiMed team to serve as both a strategic and financial partner to European and North American small and middle-market businesses. Prioritized areas of focus include biopharmaceutical products & services, life science tools, medical devices & technologies, diagnostics, healthcare IT and consumer health. ArchiMed helps partner companies internationalize, acquire, innovate and expand their products and services. Over the last twenty years, ArchiMed's leadership team has directly managed and invested in over eighty small to large-size healthcare companies globally, representing over €50 billion of combined value. ArchiMed manages over €3 billion ($3.4 billion) in healthcare assets across its various funds. Since its inception, ArchiMed has been a committed Impact investor, both directly and through its Eurêka Foundation.
France : Stéphanie du Ché, stephanie.duche@archimed.group +33 (0)6 16 36 11 08
2021/11/17 | ArchiMed buys Cardioline, Europe's leader in cardiology-focused telemedicine
Cardioline is the first purchase of ArchiMed's MED III Fund, which closed on €650 million in August, after less than two months of fundraising.
Trans-Atlantic private equity healthcare specialist ArchiMed has acquired a majority stake in Trento, Italy-based Cardioline. Founded in 1962, Cardioline is one of Europe's most trusted brands for the manufacture and provision of traditional cardiology devices and services. Supplying respectively 20 percent and 50 percent of hospital and physician demand for electrocardiogram machines in Italy, Cardioline is also Europe's largest provider of cardiology-focused telemedicine. Using proprietary online technology and software, Cardioline offers sophisticated, remote cardiology testing and diagnostics for patients and the entities serving them, including physicians, pharmacists, hospitals, ambulance crews and others.
"With nine new product releases in the past five years and more on the way, Cardioline has the most innovative product portfolio and product pipeline in its field on a global level," says ArchiMed Managing Partner Vincent Guillaumot. "At its core, this is a technology development company, focused on combining mobile electrocardiography and stress-testing devices with state-of-the-art software and connectivity. Cardioline's potential to expand into adjacent products and new geographies, both organically and through acquisition, is enormous."
Cardioline is currently rolling out its first software for clinical research trials with a focus on electrocardiograms. The advanced software will allow labs to respond to the increasingly pressing demands of the pharma industry for more efficient and cheaper remote testing. ArchiMed and Cardioline management are also considering a short-list of 15 potential acquisitions in Europe and the Americas to further accelerate growth.
As part of the all-equity deal, founders - Sandra Antoniazzi and Fabio Rangoni - and management will own a significant minority stake in Cardioline and will remain in leadership positions. "ArchiMed is a particularly welcome partner, given their financial muscle, global industry connections and clear understanding of the wealth of possibility when it comes to expanding our business," says Cardioline CEO Brian Brenegan. "Partnering with ArchiMed is an opportunity to maximize our growth." ArchiMed Operating Partner, Carlos Alonso will join Cardioline's board as Chairman. As a senior executive of diversified medical device manufacturer Hillrom, Alonso notably built its international operations from a marginal division into a $1 billion growth juggernaut through both organic expansion and acquisition.
Cardioline sales, spurred by growing demand for its telemedicine and remote testing suite – products and services rolled out in early 2018 - have grown some 20 percent annually over the past three years, reaching approximately €15 million in the 2021 fiscal year. ArchiMed invested in Cardioline through its MED III Fund, which closed on €650 million in August after less than two months of fundraising. MED III partners with companies in the European and North American small-cap healthcare sectors, buying majority stakes in association with existing owners and managers. ArchiMed also manages MED I, ranked the best performing buyout fund at a global level for the 2014 vintage, according to Preqin data. MED I has distributed over four times invested capital to limited partners and has a total return in excess of six times invested capital.
2021/11/03 | ArchiMed buys Cube, an innovative provider of membrane protein services for the biopharma research market
ArchiMed and Cube management will expand sales in the US - the world's largest drug discovery market - and broaden Cube's product and service offering organically and via acquisitions.
Trans-Atlantic private equity healthcare specialist ArchiMed has purchased a majority stake in Monheim, Germany-based Cube. Founded in 2012, Cube has developed proprietary methods and products to provide high purity, stable membrane proteins for drug discovery. Membrane proteins are found across the surface of cells, playing a key role as receptors for drugs, but they are extremely difficult to extract without loss of native functionality. Stable extraction of such proteins is Cube's core specialty and a critical step for successful structure determination and effective drug discovery.
"Up to one hundred human membrane proteins have seen their structure determined, but thousands have yet to be characterized," says ArchiMed Partner Loïc Kubitza. "The unmatched quality of Cube's proprietary processes and products is contributing to a golden age in efficient drug discovery, so we're here to help them scale-up aggressively." "Partnering with ArchiMed will maximize Cube's potential through better penetration of the US market, focused organic product and service expansion and the ability to leverage our knowledge and connections through acquisitions," says Cube co-founder and Managing Director, Barbara Maertens.
In keeping with ArchiMed's partnership model with entrepreneurs, Maertens and her co-founders - Managing Directors Jan Kubicek and Roland Fabis - remain significant shareholders alongside ArchiMed, maintaining their leadership positions at Cube. This trio of highly respected PhDs previously held key positions in the protein production, purification and crystallization business segments of Qiagen, the life sciences and molecular diagnostics group and first German company to list on Nasdaq.
ArchiMed is reinforcing Cube's board with the appointment of Dirk Ehlers as Chairman. Ehlers was previously Chief Executive of life sciences tools group, Eppendorf and Chief Finance Officer of drug discovery services pioneer, Evotec. Also appointed to the Board are ArchiMed Operating Partner, Klaus Maleck, previously Chief Executive of TETEC, a specialist in cell therapies for cartilage repair, and Peter Reinemer, formerly Chief Operating Officer at Proteros Biostructures, a leading provider of early-stage drug research services.
Cube is ArchiMed's latest investment in Germany, following the acquisition last December of Zyto Group, a developer of precision cancer diagnostics. "Trans-Atlantic scale-ups have effectively become our calling card based on our track-record with NAMSA, Clean Biologics and Polyplus, among others," says ArchiMed Managing Partner Denis Ribon. Toledo, Ohio-based NAMSA is the world's preeminent contract research organization for medical devices; Strasbourg, France-based Polyplus is a leader in state-of-the-art gene and cell therapy technology; and Clean Biologics is a specialist in biosafety testing and biologics CDMO services, based near Nantes, France.
ArchiMed invested in Cube through its MED II fund (now fully invested). MED II and its successor fund MED III partner with companies in the European and North American small-cap healthcare sectors, buying majority stakes in association with existing owners and managers. ArchiMed also manages MED I, currently ranked the best performing buyout fund at a global level for the 2014 vintage, according to Preqin data. MED I has distributed more than four times invested capital to limited partners and has a total return in excess of six times invested capital.
ArchiMed Advisors
Legal - Jones Day
Due Diligence - Ebner Stolz; McKinsey & Company; Laporte
2021/10/20 | ArchiMed refinances Ad-Tech less than a year after purchase, returning more than a third of investment to shareholders
Over 20 percent organic growth, plus profit margin improvement, leads to better loan terms and a return of capital, all with no increase in leverage.
Private equity healthcare specialist ArchiMed has arranged a refinancing for Ad-Tech Medical Instrument Corporation – a key investment of its MED II fund – after acquiring the company in November 2020 for a combination of debt and equity. JP Morgan Chase, which funded the debt used to acquire Ad-Tech, provided the refinancing. With improved terms and a lower interest charge than the original acquisition debt, the refinancing returns more than a third of Ad-Tech's purchase price to MED II's investors. AdTech management will also benefit from the refinancing, based on return hurdles in their equity-based incentive programs.
Founded in 1983 in Greater Milwaukee, Ad-Tech is the world leader in the development, manufacture and sale of patent-protected, minimally invasive brain electrodes. Ad-Tech's devices provide brain mapping used in the diagnostics and treatment of a wide range of disorders, including epilepsy. The firm's rapidly expanding product range feature field-leading ease of use and connectivity.
Since ArchiMed acquired Ad-Tech and appointed its chairman and chief executive, Brian Smith, Ad-Tech's revenues have increased more than 20 percent and its profit margin has risen by over 5 percentage points, leading to a 50 percent-plus increase in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The rise in sales and earnings permitted a significant increase in debt with no impact on leverage (i.e. with no change in the ratio of net debt to EBITDA).
Ad-Tech's refinancing follows a similar refinancing earlier this month as Toledo, Ohio-based NAMSA, another ArchiMed portfolio company bought less than a year ago, and the world's leading contract research organization for medical devices. In 12 months, Europe-headquartered ArchiMed has built up its presence in the US through acquisitions like Ad-Tech and NAMSA and through expansion, opening a new 10-person office in New York City late last year.
"The fact that we've been able to return more than a third of investment to our investors in under a year is really thanks to Brian Smith and the innovative skills and timely execution of the entire Ad-Tech team," says ArchiMed partner Justin Bateman. "We expect another year of strong organic growth and increasing profitability at Ad-Tech." Under Smith's Chairmanship, Ad-Tech has combined accelerated product line expansion with more effective customer-centric sales and delivery. "ArchiMed has helped us zero-in and develop the most promising products in our pipeline and brought us the connections we need to fully realize international sales goals, especially in Europe," says Smith. "ArchiMed is proving indispensable for consolidating industry leadership." Ad-Tech sells its products to a rapidly growing list of customers in over 60 countries.
ArchiMed's MED II partners with growth companies in the European and North American small-cap healthcare sectors, buying majority stakes for €5 million to €30 million in association with existing owners and managers. ArchiMed also manages MED I, currently ranked the best performing buyout fund at a global level for the 2014 vintage, according to Preqin data. MED I has distributed more than four times invested capital to limited partners and has a total return in excess of six times invested capital.
With offices in the US and Europe, ArchiMed is a leading investment firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industries. Its mix of operational, medical, scientific and financial expertise allows the ArchiMed team to serve as both a strategic and financial partner to European and North American small and middle-market businesses. Prioritized areas of focus include biopharmaceutical products & services, life science tools, medical devices & technologies, diagnostics, healthcare IT and consumer health. ArchiMed helps partner companies internationalize, acquire, innovate and expand their products and services.
Over the last twenty years, ArchiMed's leadership team has directly managed and invested in over eighty small to large-size healthcare companies globally, representing over €50 billion of combined value.
ArchiMed manages over €3 billion ($3.4 billion) in healthcare assets across its various funds. Since its inception, ArchiMed has been a committed Impact investor, both directly and through its Eurêka Foundation.
2021/10/07 | With refinancing, ArchiMed's NAMSA returns more than a third of investment to shareholders in less than a year and gets significant capital for future acquisitions
The doubling of EBITDA since ArchiMed's purchase allows NAMSA to increase initial borrowing with no rise in leverage.
ArchiMed has arranged a refinancing for NAMSA - one of five key investments of ArchiMed's €1 billion MED Platform I fund - less than a year after formally acquiring the company for a combination of debt and equity. Ares Management Corporation, which funded the debt used to acquire NAMSA and its subsequent acquisitions, provided the refinancing.
Toledo, Ohio-based NAMSA, founded in 1967, is a Contract Research Organization (CRO), offering cost-saving, time-efficient outsourcing services for healthcare testing and clinical trials. The group is the world's leading CRO for the fast growing medical devices market, offering consulting, testing and clinical research through every development stage, from conception to global regulatory approval and commercialization.
Over the past year, NAMSA doubled its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. This was done mainly through organic growth in cross-selling and the build-out of operations, with cardiovascular testing capacity showing the most noteworthy expansion. Three acquisitions were completed over seven months; they added to performance and are projected to contribute even more significantly to EBITDA in 2022. The combination of organic growth and acquistions allowed NAMSA to consolidate its global leadership of outsourced medical device research and to significantly increase debt without increasing leverage - i.e. with no change in the ratio of net debt to EBITDA. The refinancing also comes with improved terms and conditions, including interest that is more than 10 percent lower than the rate on the original financing.
The refinancing will return more than a third of NAMSA's purchase price to shareholders, including MED Platform I's limited partners, founding families and management. The latter two groups have a roughly 30 percent stake in NAMSA. The refinancing also includes capital for further acquisitions. "We expect another great year," says André-Michel Ballester, a Managing Partner at ArchiMed. "Substantial capital has been reserved by both NAMSA's shareholders and lenders for further acquisitive growth and organic build-out." For the next several years, ArchiMed expects top and bottom-line growth at NAMSA to substantially exceed the projected 10 percent annual growth of the medical device CRO market, where outsourcing expansion is driven by rising regulation and complexity. The founders of NAMSA - board member and former CEO John Gorski and his family - have played a key role ensuring successful acquisitions and integration and they will continue to do so in the future.
MED Platform I buys majority stakes in platform companies in Europe and the US for $50 million to $500 million in association with existing owners and managers. ArchiMed also manages MED I, currently ranked the best performing buyout fund at a global level for the 2014 vintage, according to Preqin data. MED I has distributed more than four times invested capital to limited partners and has a total return in excess of six times invested capital.
2021/10/05 | ArchiMed backs Xpress Biologics, a leading provider of plasmid DNA for advanced therapy medicinal products
In partnership with founders and management, ArchiMed will finance a 10-fold expansion of Xpress Biologics' production capacity based on the implementation of GMP services.
ArchiMed announces the acquisition of a majority stake in Liège, Belgium-based Xpress Biologics. The company, founded in 2014, is a leading developer of expression systems and manufacturing processes for the production of plasmid DNA and protein therapeutics. Plasmid DNA is the most in-demand starting material for the production of medicines in the fast-growing field of gene and cell-based therapies as well as for mRNA-based vaccines. Such Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products are transforming the treatment of life-threatening conditions, including genetic disorders such as spinal muscular atrophy and diseases caused by viral infection, including Covid-19. The plasmid DNA market, worth an estimated $1.1 billion this year, is expected to grow at a high double-digit rate over the next five years.
As part of the transaction, founders Christian Rodriguez, Philippe Ledent and Marc Daukandt will be reinvesting all of their proceeds back into Xpress Biologics. Noshaq, the public sector investor promoting the development of the Liège region, will also reinvest.
"Our confidence in the competitive strength of Xpress Biologics is based on the superiority of our process to produce highly purified plasmid DNA in a time-effective way," says Daukandt. "With ArchiMed's backing, Xpress Biologics will be able to expand plasmid production by a factor of ten, taking a bigger share of the gene and cell therapy market following recent mRNA, Covid-19 and gene therapy breakthroughs," says the company's new Chief Executive, Carola Jüstel. "This will allow us to onboard larger customers, with a particular focus on internationalizing distribution in the US and in the Asia-Pacific region." Jüstel was previously Chief Executive of Pepscan and Senior Vice President of Recombinant Research & Development at Octapharma. In the latter role she oversaw development and production of blockbuster recombinant blood clotting Factor VIII, using FDA compliant Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). ArchiMed is adding further experience at Board level with the recruitment of Jürgen Pohle, as Chairman. Pohle was previously Chief Executive Officer at Neovii Pharmaceuticals and held several senior executive roles at Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics. Rémi Gloekler will also be joining the Board to contribute his deep expertise in biologics chemistry, manufacturing and control. He was previously Executive Vice President of Quality Assurance and Pharmaceutical Operations at therapeutic vaccines specialist Transgene.
"Given our years of experience in the gene and cell therapy industry, supporting a major GMP capacity expansion at Xpress Biologics is a perfect fit for us," says ArchiMed Partner, Loïc Kubitza. "Xpress Biologics' team has done an amazing job developing a superior production process and is now ready to scale up." "Including Polyplus-transfection [which multiplied its revenues by a factor of ten in four years with ArchiMed's backing], we have now supported a significant number of life science companies on both sides of the Atlantic." says ArchiMed Chairman, Denis Ribon. "ArchiMed has become a recognized leader when it comes to helping life science companies scale up in Europe and North America."
ArchiMed invested in Xpress Biologics through its MED II fund, which partners with growth companies in the European and North American small-cap healthcare sectors, buying majority stakes for €5 million to €30 million in association with existing owners and managers.
ArchiMed also manages MED I, currently ranked the best performing buyout fund at a global level for the 2014 vintage, according to Preqin data. MED I has distributed more than four times invested capital to limited partners and has a total return in excess of six times invested capital.
2021/08/05 | ArchiMed closes MED III at €650 million hard cap in less than two months.
Raised entirely by virtual means, the healthcare fund was oversubscribed, receiving hard commitments in excess of €1.3 billion.
Leading private equity healthcare specialist ArchiMed announces the one-and-done final close of its small cap-focused MED III fund on its upper limit of €650 million after less than two months of fundraising. The fund is twice the size of its predecessor, the fully invested MED II fund, which closed on €315 million in 2017. MED III targeted €500 million and received hard commitments in excess of €1.3 billion.
"Investors pushed us towards a significantly higher hard cap," says ArchiMed founder and Managing Partner, Denis Ribon. "But we wanted to stay true to the fund's focus on smaller firms, so we capped this where it makes sense for the strategy. Investment discipline is key to our success and we've sized MED III to provide a seamless transition from MED II, based on a very strong deal pipeline."
Over 95 percent of MED II investors re-upped. Some 25 percent of MED III investors - old and new - come from the United States, with 50 percent spread through most of the EU countries and the remainder from European countries outside the EU. Some 85 percent are institutional, mostly endowments, foundations, insurance companies and pension funds, while 15 percent are family offices. MED III was raised exclusively by virtual means, with no placement agent. Clifford Chance acted as legal advisor.
Using limited leverage so as not to compromise growth opportunities, MED III will target 12-14 majority control investments in healthcare companies with annual revenues of between €10 million and €100 million, in Europe and North America, partnering with families, founders and management teams. Prioritized healthcare industries include Biopharma and related services, Medtech, Life Sciences, Diagnostics, Consumer Health and Healthcare IT.
The latest fund's predecessor, MED II, invested in a total of 11 companies and is a top quartile performer for global buyout funds for its vintage year, according to Preqin. ArchiMed's inaugural MED I fund, which raised €150 million in 2014, invested in nine companies and is currently ranked the best performing buyout fund on a global level for its vintage year, registering a total return in excess of six times invested capital (it's already distributed more than four times invested capital to limited partners). ArchiMed's mid cap-focused MED Platform I fund, which held a final close on €1 billion last August, is now 70 percent invested.
About ArchiMed – www.archimed.group
ArchiMed is a leading private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry. ArchiMed serves as strategic and financial partner to European and North American small and middle-market businesses in targeted segments of healthcare, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices & technology, healthcare IT and consumer health. ArchiMed bases its strategy upon integrated private equity, medical and operating expertise, and its trans-Atlantic platform that supports growth through internationalization. Over the last 20 years, ArchiMed's leadership team has directly managed and invested in over 50 small to large-size healthcare companies globally, representing over €5 billion of investment. ArchiMed manages nearly $3 billion in assets across five funds, small-cap-focused MED I, MED II and MED III, gene & cell therapy-focused PolyMED and mid-cap-focused MED Platform I. ArchiMed is an impact investor and a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment, pledged to uphold the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
2021/08/02 | ArchiMed's NAMSA consolidates leadership in Medical Device Clinical Research, buying Clinlogix.
The purchase is the third acquisition in seven months for the world's leading Contract Research Organization for medical devices.
NAMSA - one of four key investments of ArchiMed's €1 billion MED Platform I fund - announces the strategic acquisition of Clinlogix. NAMSA and Clinlogix are Contract Research Organizations (CRO), offering cost saving, time-efficient outsourced services for healthcare testing and clinical trials.
Toledo, Ohio-based NAMSA, founded in 1967, is the only CRO in the world focused exclusively on end-to-end services for medical devices, offering consulting, testing and clinical research through every development stage, from conception to global regulatory approval and commercialization. Founded in 1999 and based in Lower Gwynedd, Pennsylvania, Clinlogix, expands NAMSA's clinical trial testing capacity by some 25 percent, deepens NAMSA's expertise in neurology, oncology, urology and nephrology and reinforces the firm's ability to conduct global trials with facilities in Japan, Germany and Columbia.
"With ArchiMed's financing, connections and industry knowledge, we're building an entrepreneur-led global champion for the medical device industry," says JeanMarie Markham, the founder and Chief Executive of Clinlogix. Post-merger, she will join the expanded group's leadership team.
This latest buy-and-build transaction follows two other CRO acquisitions since ArchiMed bought NAMSA last September. New York-based Syntactx and Minneapolis-based American Preclinical Services were acquired in January and March respectively. The founders and managers of NAMSA and its three acquisitions hold a significant minority stake in the expanded group.
"With ArchiMed's help, NAMSA has become a key consolidator in a highly fragmented industry," says Christophe Berthoux, NAMSA Chief Executive. "Scale gives us power to offer clients savings and expedite time to market at a time of growing regulatory oversight and cost inflation for medical device development."
Clinlogix, like NAMSA, is experiencing double-digit top and bottom-line growth. "NAMSA is blowing through its objectives and will deliver a four-year development plan in just one year," says André-Michel Ballester, a Managing Partner at ArchiMed. "This company and its management team are gems."
MED Platform I (MP I) buys majority stakes in platform companies in Europe and the US for $50 million to $500 million in association with existing owners and managers. MP I's other platforms are Italy-based Bomi Group, Europe's leading healthcare Contract Logistics Organization; Switzerland-based Stragen, a developer of hard-to-make generic drugs; and UK-based DHG, a North European leader in hospital equipment. ArchiMed also manages MED I, currently ranked the best performing buyout fund at a global level for the 2014 vintage, according to Preqin data. MED I has distributed more than four times invested capital to limited partners and has a total return in excess of six times invested capital. About ArchiMed - www.archimed.group
ArchiMed is a leading private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry. ArchiMed serves as strategic and financial partner to European and North American small and middle-market businesses in targeted segments of healthcare, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices & technology, healthcare IT and consumer
health. ArchiMed bases its strategy upon integrated private equity, medical and operating expertise, and its trans-Atlantic platform that supports growth through internationalization. Over the last 20 years, ArchiMed's leadership team has directly managed and invested in over 40 small to large-size healthcare companies globally, representing over €5 billion of investment. ArchiMed manages nearly €2 billion in assets across four funds, small-cap-focused MED I and MED II, gene & cell therapy-focused PolyMED and mid-cap-focused MED Platform I. ArchiMed is an impact investor and a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment, pledged to uphold the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
France: Stéphanie du Ché, stephanie.duche@archimed.group +33 (0)6 16 36 11 08
2021/06/24 | ArchiMed buys Stragen Pharma, a leader in the development, registration and distribution of hard-to-make generic drugs
With ArchiMed's help, Stragen will pursue its development in the generics space.
Private equity healthcare specialist, ArchiMed, announces the acquisition of Stragen Pharma through its €1 billion MED Platform I fund. Based near Geneva, Switzerland and founded in 1990, Stragen is primarily a developer of hard-to-make, complex generic drugs for the treatment of patients with life-threatening conditions that require comprehensive care and monitoring, usually in intensive care units.
Stragen sales of some €70 million in 2020 are growing at a double-digit annual pace. Stragen's 40 different products are sold in over 60 countries around the world, with a strong European focus.
"Stragen's developed what we consider unsurpassed expertise digging into difficult-to-formulate generics and then taking leadership positions," says ArchiMed Partner Jean-Yves Desmottes. With an estimated size of €5 billion this segment of the generics market should enjoy healthy growth in the coming years. Many innovative, but currently patented active pharma ingredients will fall into the generic area over the next five years, expanding the corresponding generics market by what ArchiMed estimates is €4 billion, or 80 percent.
"ArchiMed knows our market inside and out," says Jean-Luc Tétard, Stragen's founder and Chief Executive. "With their backing, Stragen will have the means and freedom to pursue growth." "We'll help Stragen build-up its product portfolio, especially through investment in existing operations," says André-Michel Ballester, the ArchiMed Managing Partner in charge of the MED Platform I fund.
As part of the transaction, Jean-Luc Tétard will be stepping down from the CEO's position, but will remain on Stragen's board. The new CEO, Amine Achite, has a long history of growing healthcare companies, and was most recently CEO of diversified food supplements manufacturer and distributor EA Pharma. Tétard and Stragen's management will retain a significant minority stake in the company.
MED Platform I, which holds Stragen, owns three additional platforms: Italy-based Bomi Group, Europe's leading healthcare-specialist contract logistics organization; US-based NAMSA, the world's preeminent contract research organization for Medtech; and UK-based DHG, a North European leader in hospital equipment. ArchiMed also manages MED I, currently ranked the best performing buyout fund at a global level for the 2014 vintage, according to Preqin data. MED I has distributed more than four times invested capital to limited partners and has a total return in excess of six times invested capital.
About ArchiMed – www.archimed-group.eu
ArchiMed is a leading private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry. ArchiMed serves as strategic and financial partner to European and North American small and middle-market businesses in targeted segments of healthcare, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices & technology, healthcare IT and consumer health. ArchiMed bases its strategy upon integrated private equity, medical and operating expertise, and its unique trans-Atlantic platform that supports growth through internationalization. Over the last 20 years, ArchiMed's leadership team has directly managed and invested in over 40 small to large-size healthcare companies globally, representing over €5 billion of investment. ArchiMed manages nearly €2 billion in assets across four funds, small-cap-focused MED I and MED II, gene & cell therapy-focused PolyMED and mid-cap-focused MED Platform I. ArchiMed is an impact investor and a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment, pledged to uphold the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
France: Stéphanie du Ché, stephanie.duche@archimed-group.eu +33 (0)6 16 36 11 08
2021/06/01 | ArchiMed's Fytexia buys B Natural, the European leader in the extraction and refinement of compounds produced by bees
ArchiMed's health ingredients developer, Fytexia, acquires leader in the extraction and refinement of compounds produced by bees.
The buy-and-build purchase boosts group sales some 40 percent and expands health nutrient research & development for the food industry.
Fytexia, a key platform company owned by private equity healthcare specialist ArchiMed, has acquired Milan, Italy-based B Natural, Europe's leader in the extraction, refinement and commercialization of propolis – a bee-generated compound with multiple health benefits. Bees use propolis for hive construction.
Based in Béziers, France, Fytexia develops and distributes clinically proven natural ingredients used in food supplements throughout the world. Fytexia's nutrients are derived from botanic polyphenols, a type of antioxidant found in plants, vegetables and fruits. Antioxidants inhibit chemical reactions that damage the cells of organisms. They can reduce and neutralize risk factors associated with an exceptionally wide range of health problems, including those linked to immune systems, metabolic regulation, the cardiovascular system and obesity. B Natural's cutting-edge propolis products contain insect derived polyphenols. They have similar health benefits to botanic polyphenols and are complementary.
"B Natural is a perfect fit when it comes to expanding beyond our range of botanic-focused products," says Fytexia CEO Matthieu Arguillère. "With our companies joining forces, backed by ArchiMed's financial strength and global network, we'll commercialize compounds for an ever-widening range of health applications." "Partnering with Fytexia and ArchiMed is fantastic," says B Natural CEO Gianluca Imbriani. "This deal allows us to expand into new geographies and benefit from exceptionally well-funded research and development."
The B Natural acquisition was sourced by ArchiMed's MedTalents network (over 200 ArchiMed-associated senior healthcare professionals spread throughout the world who identify, facilitate and advise on deals and counsel portfolio companies). Given the strong cash-flow profile of Fytexia, the acquisition was funded with a significant amount of debt. B Natural will increase overall group sales by some 40 percent.
"We've brought two of the most scientifically advanced players in the health ingredients industry under one roof," says Archimed Partner Robin Filmer-Wilson. "That's a potent combination – whether you're talking investment potential or health benefits."
Under ArchiMed's ownership, Fytexia has increased sales some 20 percent annually over the past three years, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization have risen four-fold. ArchiMed acquired Fytexia in 2016 through its MED I fund, which raised €150 million in 2015.
ArchiMed is a leading private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry. ArchiMed serves as strategic and financial partner to European and North American small and middle-market businesses in targeted segments of healthcare, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices & technology, healthcare IT and consumer health. ArchiMed bases its strategy upon integrated private equity, medical and operating expertise, and its unique trans-Atlantic platform that supports growth through internationalization. Over the last 20 years, ArchiMed's leadership team has directly managed and invested in over 40 small to large-size healthcare companies globally, representing over €5 billion of investment. ArchiMed manages nearly €2 billion in assets across four funds, small-cap-focused MED I and MED II, gene & cell therapy-focused PolyMED and mid-cap-focused MED Platform I. The latter is Europe's largest healthcare fund at €1 billion. MED I is the top performing buyout fund on a global level for the 2014 vintage, returning in excess of six times invested capital on a gross basis. ArchiMed is an impact investor and a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment, pledged to uphold the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
2021/03/24 | ArchiMed's Direct Healthcare Group buys United Care BV, with more buy-and-build acquisitions in the pipeline
The United Care deal is Direct Healthcare Group's sixth add-on in twelve months; combined with another recently closed deal, it increases revenues by some €30 million.
UK-based Direct Healthcare Group (DHG), one of three key investments of ArchiMed's MED Platform I – Europe's largest healthcare fund – has bought United Care BV (UC). The acquisition of UC, sourced and financed by private equity healthcare specialist, ArchiMed, follows the purchase of Talley Group just three weeks ago. The two transactions will boost annual revenues at DHG to more than €100 million, or by over €30 million in 2021, from €67 million last year. UC was purchased with a mix of debt and equity.
A total of six buy-and-build deals in the past 12 months have helped increase DHG annual revenues more than 3-fold since ArchiMed acquired the company in December 2019. "ArchiMed's healthcare specialization, deal making experience, understanding of integration and – above all – their partnership philosophy, have made them an indispensable ally," says DHG CEO Graham Ewart. "ArchiMed's efficient and inclusive processes, from sourcing to integration, and their shared vision for one-stop shopping, mean we're closing deals we couldn't execute with just any partner," says DHG Chairman, Carlos Alonso. As part of ArchiMed's original acquisition, management acquired 20 percent of DHG.
With ArchiMed's backing, DHG has transformed itself from a UK-focused manufacturer of innovative pressure care products into a European developer, manufacturer and direct distributor of products and services for the mobility challenged, addressing pressure ulcers, wounds, patient handling and rehabilitation. United Care brings DHG a range of sophisticated ceiling, floor and bathroom transfer systems designed to provide a maximum of independent movement for the immobile. Talley Group, the company acquired by DHG earlier this month, designs vacuum and pressure application therapies for preventing and treating Deep Vein Thrombosis and acute and chronic wounds – conditions often tied to a lack of movement.
Post-consolidation synergies in research, production, sales, and distribution throughout Europe and the rest of the world have pushed DHG's annual organic growth into double digits since ArchiMed's first partnered with the group. "Our investment in DHG demonstrates one plus one equals more than two," says ArchiMed Partner Antoine Faguer. "We're using knowledge and connections – a majority of us have healthcare operating backgrounds – and financing, to help realize DHG's ambitions."
MED Platform I, which holds DHG, partners with growth companies, buying majority stakes for €50-to-€500 million in association with owners and managers. MP I provides platforms with the resources to broaden product lines and expand geographically, accelerating growth through aggressive acquisition. The fund owns two additional platforms: Bomi Group, Europe's leading specialist in healthcare supply chain services, and US-based NAMSA, the world's preeminent contract research organization for Medtech. Multiple buy-and-build acquisitions by all these firms have been completed with more in the pipeline. A fourth platform investment is expected shortly. MP I closed on €1 billion in August 2020, making it the largest healthcare fund ever raised by a European-headquartered firm.
ArchiMed is a leading private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry. ArchiMed serves as a strategic and financial partner to European and North American small and middle-market businesses in targeted segments of healthcare, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices & technology, healthcare IT and consumer health. ArchiMed bases its strategy upon integrated private equity, medical and operating expertise, and its unique trans-Atlantic platform that supports growth through internationalization. Over the last 20 years, ArchiMed's leadership team has directly managed and invested in over 40 small to large-size healthcare companies globally, representing over €5 billion of investment. ArchiMed manages nearly €2 billion in assets across four funds, small-cap-focused MED I and MED II, gene & cell therapy-focused PolyMED and mid-cap-focused MED Platform I. The latter is Europe's largest healthcare fund at €1 billion. MED I is the top performing buyout fund on a global level for the 2014 vintage, returning in excess of six times invested capital on a gross basis. ArchiMed is an impact investor and a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment, pledged to uphold the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
2021/03/03 | ArchiMed's Direct Healthcare Group acquires Talley
The integration of Talley broadens Direct Healthcare Group's comprehensive range of innovative, technologically advanced products for the care of patients with limited mobility.
March 3, 2021 – Direct Healthcare Group (DHG), one of three key investments of ArchiMed's MED Platform I – Europe's largest healthcare fund – has purchased Talley Group. Talley provides cutting-edge vacuum and pressure application therapies for conditions tied to lack of movement (notably acute and chronic wounds, and Deep Vein Thrombosis – or blood clots). Talley, founded in 1953, also makes therapeutic surfaces preventing both skin tissue deformation and ulcers that threaten the health of the immobile.
"The medical technology and knowhow of our companies are perfect complements," says DHG CEO Graham Ewart. "Talley offers cross-selling and adds to DHG's ability to improve the lives of patients with limited mobility."
The equity-only purchase of UK-based Talley was financed by ArchiMed. It is DHG's fifth acquisition since global private equity healthcare specialist ArchiMed bought DHG in December 2019 (DHG staff took a 20% stake). DHG 2021 revenues will rise to over €100 million from €67 million in 2020, due to Talley and organic growth. DHG revenues more than doubled in 2020, following four ArchiMed-backed deals. Those acquisitions transformed DHG from a UK-focused manufacturer of innovative pressure care products into a pan-European developer, manufacturer and distributor of products and services for the mobility-challenged, addressing pressure ulcers, wounds, patient handling and rehabilitation.
"We're partnering with DHG financially, strategically and tactically in an aggressive program to consolidate a fragmented industry," says ArchiMed Partner Antoine Faguer. ArchiMed and DHG have a list of over 100 potential transactions. "The services we're building with ArchiMed are springboards for growth, innovation and materially improved healthcare," says DHG Chairman Carlos Alonso.
MED Platform I, which holds DHG, partners with growth companies, buying majority stakes for €50-to-€500 million in association with owners and managers. MPI provides platforms with the resources to broaden product lines and expand geographically, accelerating growth through aggressive acquisition. The fund owns two additional platforms: BOMI Group, Europe's leading specialist in healthcare supply chain services, and U.S.-based NAMSA, the world's preeminent contract research organization for medtech. Multiple buy-and-build acquisitions by all these firms have been completed with more in the pipeline. A fourth platform investment is expected shortly. MPI closed on €1 billion in August 2020, making it the largest healthcare fund ever raised by a European-headquartered firm.
About ArchiMed www.archimed-group.eu
ArchiMed is a leading private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry. ArchiMed serves as a strategic and financial partner to European and North American small and middle-market businesses in targeted segments of healthcare, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices & technology, healthcare IT and consumer health. ArchiMed's strategy is based upon healthcare specialization, integrated private equity, medical and operating expertise, and its unique trans-Atlantic platform that supports growth through internationalization. Over the last 20 years, ArchiMed's leadership team has directly managed and invested in over 40 small to large-size healthcare companies globally, representing over €5 billion of invested capital. ArchiMed currently manages nearly €2 billion in assets across four funds, small-cap focused MED I and MED II, gene & cell therapy focused PolyMED and mid-cap-focused MED Platform I. The latter is Europe's largest healthcare fund at €1 billion. ArchiMed's MED I is the top performing buyout fund on a global level for the 2014 vintage, returning in excess of six times invested capital on a gross basis. ArchiMed is an impact investor and a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment, pledged to uphold the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
2021/03/02 | Acquisition by ArchiMed's NAMSA makes it the preeminent contract research organization for medtech lab testing
American Preclinical Services' offers state-of-the-art laboratory and analysis tools to NAMSA, the world's only specialist in end-to-end medical device testing.
March 2, 2021 – NAMSA – one of three key investments of ArchiMed's MED Platform I – Europe's largest healthcare fund – has purchased American Preclinical Services (APS). NAMSA and APS are leading contract research organizations, offering cost-efficient, outsourced services for healthcare-related testing.
Toledo, Ohio-based NAMSA, founded in 1967, is the only CRO in the world focused exclusively on end-to-end services for medical devices, offering consulting, testing and project management through every development stage, from conception to global regulatory approval and commercialization. Minneapolis, Minnesota-based APS, founded in 2005, significantly enhances NAMSA's already robust lab solutions with cutting-edge surgical instrumentation, testing spaces and advanced imaging capabilities.
"We're excited to join forces with NAMSA, the pioneer and long-standing leader of the medical device testing industry," says APS President and CEO Michael Conforti. Adds NAMSA President and CEO John Gorski: "Together, we look forward to advancing patient healthcare by efficiently and safely helping sponsors deliver innovative, life-saving medical technology throughout the world." The deal increases NAMSA's footprint in Minnesota, one of three U.S. states dominating medical device development (along with California and Massachusetts), and opens up NAMSA's large global client base to APS.
The proprietary debt-and-equity deal – done outside of an auction and without intermediaries – was arranged by ArchiMed and is NAMSA's second acquisition since the global private equity healthcare specialist acquired control of the group in August 2020. Staff and the founding family took some 30 percent of NAMSA at the time of its purchase, illustrating ArchiMed's partnership model.
"Trust built up over years between the leaders of all our groups, a glove-like fit in terms of services and shared long-term vision were the essentials making the APS deal possible," says André-Michel Ballester, one of ArchiMed's three Managing Partners.
MED Platform I, which holds NAMSA, partners with growth companies, buying majority stakes for €50-€500 million, in association with owners and managers. MPI provides its platforms with resources to broaden product lines and expand geographically, accelerating growth through aggressive acquisition. The fund owns two platform companies in addition to NAMSA: Italy-based BOMI Group, a specialist in complex healthcare logistics, and UK-based DHG, a developer of products for patients with mobility issues. Multiple buy-and-build acquisitions by all of these firms have been completed with more in the pipeline. A fourth platform investment is expected shortly. MPI closed on €1 billion in August 2020, making it the largest healthcare fund ever raised by a European-headquartered firm.
Debt financing for NAMSA's acquisition of APS was provided by funds managed by Ares Management Corporation.
2021/01/26 | ArchiMed strengthens its North American capabilities
Leading global private equity healthcare specialist ArchiMed is expanding its New York City office with five appointments, adding to transfers from the Lyon office.
January 26, 2021 – The new hires at ArchiMed's New York office are Partner Justin Bateman; Principal of Investor Relations Monica Holec; Associate Director Anthony Farias; and Strategic Partners Carlos Alonso and Nick Pachuda. They are joining company Chairman Denis Ribon and Partner Antoine Faguer.
Justin Bateman joins from BC Partners, where he rose to Managing Partner during a 20-year career and co-founded the group's New York office in 2008. He was a member of BC's investment committee and led 14 transactions across North America and Europe representing approximately $3 billion of invested capital with an emphasis on the healthcare space.
Monica Holec was a Senior Managing Director and Head of Investor Relations at Levine Leichtman Capital Partners ("LLCP"). During her decade-long career at LLCP, Monica was responsible for internalizing the investor relations and fundraising function and managing the firm's LP relationships globally.
Anthony Farias previously worked as a private equity professional at MacAndrews & Forbes. He began his career at JP Morgan in the healthcare group. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Carlos Alonso has over 30 years of international operating experience in the healthcare industry, most recently as President of the International Division at Hill-Rom Holdings. Carlos is the Chairman of the Board of Direct Healthcare Group (DHG), a portfolio company of ArchiMed headquartered in the United Kingdom.
Nick Pachuda is a former Orthopedics Surgeon who spent the past 17 years developing new product strategies and cross-selling opportunities for a range of healthcare businesses. He most recently served as the leader and Worldwide Vice-President of Orthopedic Innovation for Johnson and Johnson Medical Devices Group.
Denis Ribon, Chairman, commented, "We are thrilled with the addition of Monica, Justin, Anthony, Carlos and Nick to the ArchiMed team. They bring a wealth of experience to the firm, expanding on the 45 professionals in Europe who also have significant US operating and investment experience. The US is a key market for us, as our European investments derive most of their revenues from this side of the Atlantic. Our proven success in this market was reinforced in 2020 by four completed investments across the healthcare IT, medical devices and CRO sectors. Our recent investment in Ohio-based NAMSA, a global leading medical device CRO business and add-on of New York based Syntactx are great examples of our demonstrated expertise of scaling market leading healthcare businesses globally."
Justin Bateman, Partner, commented "I am excited to be joining the team at ArchiMed. They have established a world class combination of healthcare, operational and investment professionals alongside its MedTalentsTM network that are highly appealing. ArchiMed's target sectors have significant international reach, and the Firm's operational capability in both Europe and the US are valuable drivers to maximizing growth and delivering outsized investment returns for our limited partners."
ArchiMed is a leading private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry. ArchiMed serves as a strategic and financial partner to European and North American small and middle-market businesses in targeted segments of healthcare, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices & technology, healthcare IT and consumer health. ArchiMed's strategy is based upon healthcare specialization, integrated private equity, medical and operating expertise, and its unique trans-Atlantic platform that supports growth through internationalization.
Over the last 20 years, ArchiMed's leadership team has directly managed and invested in over 40 small to large-size healthcare companies globally, representing over €5 billion of invested capital. ArchiMed currently manages nearly €2 billion in assets across four funds, small-cap focused MED I and MED II, gene & cell therapy focused PolyMED and mid-cap-focused MED Platform I. The latter is Europe's largest healthcare fund at €1 billion. ArchiMed's MED I 2014 vintage fund is the top performing buyout fund on a global level for its vintage, returning in excess of six times invested capital on a gross basis. ArchiMed is an impact investor and a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment, pledged to uphold the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
2021/01/25 | ArchiMed's BOMI Group enters new geographies and market segments through six Buy-and-Build acquisitions made over eight months
The aggressive, ongoing acquisition program is consolidating a fragmented industry and turning BOMI into a full-service, one-stop shop for international healthcare logistics.
January 25, 2021 – Through six acquisitions carried out between May, 2020 and January, 2021, healthcare logistics specialist BOMI Group is adding some 20 percent to its annual revenues. Going forward, annual revenues are expected to rise rapidly as cross selling opportunities within BOMI's newly integrated product ranges and geographies are fully developed. ArchiMed, purchased BOMI in May, 2019 in partnership with the founding Ruini family and management (who hold a significant double-digit minority stake in the group) in a €100 million deal that saw the firm delisted from Borsa Italia's AIM market.
"Our partnership with ArchiMed is providing BOMI with more freedom to pursue acquisitions and sector consolidation than would be possible in the short-term-oriented public markets," says BOMI chief executive Marco Ruini. "ArchiMed's industry connections and expertise were key components in prioritizing sectors, in sourcing, valuing, due diligencing and financing these acquisitions." BOMI is held by ArchiMed's MED Platform I, which is the largest healthcare fund based in Europe, after raising €1 billion through a final close in August.
Three of the acquired companies – all formerly direct competitors of BOMI – Logifarma, Consigliere and Autotransporti Gigliotti & Bergamin, reinforce BOMI's position as Italy's largest provider of transport, warehousing, and supply chain management for the healthcare industry. Two acquisitions, RH Logistics (UK-based) and Deco Pharma (Spain-based) expand BOMI's pre-deal marginal presence – now major – in the UK and the Iberian Peninsula, with RH bringing new expertise and resources for handling the complex, rapidly expanding outsourcing of sophisticated medical equipment storage, transport, installation and demo activity. A further Italian purchase, Florence Shipping, gives BOMI a substantial, new presence in specialized global air freight forwarding, enabling access to the fast-growing clinical trial samples segment.
"We're leveraging our team's financial and operating expertise, supplemented by a network of over 200 associated senior healthcare professionals spread throughout the world [ArchiMed MedTalentsTM] to help BOMI's management and staff build fast-growing, high-margin businesses," says André-Michel Ballester, Managing Partner of MED Platform I. "We're collaborating with management on a high-paced program of targeted acquisitions and we're also helping BOMI find new customers." Prior to joining ArchiMed in 2017, Ballester served as the CEO of listed medical device maker LivaNova, where he conducted 18 mergers and acquisitions, expanding operations in the U.S. and in emerging markets.
ArchiMed and BOMI are working on narrowing down a list of over 70 possible add-on transactions for BOMI and are in negotiations on three potential deals. The ArchiMed fund that holds BOMI, MED Platform I, partners with growth companies in the European and North American mid-cap healthcare sectors, buying majority stakes for €50 million to €500 million in association with existing owners and managers. MPI offers platform companies the strategic, tactical and financial resources they need to broaden product lines and expand geographically, accelerating growth through acquisitions.
Since it began investing in mid-2019, MED Platform I has acquired two platform companies in addition to BOMI: UK-based DHG, a developer of products for patients with mobility issues, and U.S.-based NAMSA, the global leader in outsourced services for clinical trials and healthcare-related testing of medical devices. Multiple buy-and-build acquisitions by all of these firms have already been completed. MED Platform I expects to announce a fourth major platform investment shortly.
2021/01/25 | ArchiMed's Direct Healthcare Group sees annual revenue more than double through four Buy-and-Build purchases over nine months
The transactions – with more in the pipeline – put DHG on course to be the leading pan-European provider of products and solutions for the care of patients with limited mobility.
January 25, 2021 – Direct Healthcare Group, a majority-owned portfolio company (and partner) of private equity healthcare specialist ArchiMed, increased its annual revenues in 2020 to some €67 million from €30 million the previous year, following four Buy-and-Build acquisitions executed between February and November 2020. Organic growth also contributed to the revenue expansion. ArchiMed provided the financing for the deals while its industry connections and expertise were key components in sourcing, negotiating and executing the transactions. DHG is held by ArchiMed's MED Platform I fund, the largest healthcare fund based in Europe, after raising €1 billion through a final close in August.
The four deals transformed DHG from a mostly UK-focused manufacturer of innovative pressure care products (which prevent serious, sometimes life-threatening medical issues such as pressure sores) into a pan-European developer and manufacturer of a wide range of products designed to address all the challenges faced by patients with mobility issues. Three of the acquired companies, GATE Rehab Development, Handicare Patient Handling Europe (both headquartered in Sweden) and Lynch Healthcare Group (headquartered in the UK) are specialist providers of transfer solutions that simplify mobility – including innovative sit-to-stand raising aids, hygiene chairs and transfer platforms – for patients in hospitals, acute care environments, group homes and private homes. The fourth company, Finland-headquartered Carital Group Oy, is a leading European manufacturer of pressure care products, including technologically advanced mattresses that prevent the tissue deformation that leads to pressure ulcers.
DHG has seen its overall share of Europe's market for healthcare mobility solutions rise to some 15 percent of the sector's annual spend. When acquiring control of DHG in December 2019, ArchiMed included a funding commitment for acquisitions equal to more than twice DHG's upfront value. As part of the transaction, DHG staff took a 20 percent stake in DHG.
"ArchiMed's intimate understanding of our industry, our aligned vision and their strong ability to execute M&A helped us realize an ambitious plan for product and geographical expansion within Europe," says DHG CEO Graham Ewart. Covid-19 presented unprecedented challenges, but with ArchiMed's financial and managerial support, we were able to move forward with our strategy and further our common goal of becoming a truly international group with pan-European operations."
"The integration of these acquisitions is further accelerating DHG's growth and more deals are in the works," says ArchiMed partner Antoine Faguer. ArchiMed and DHG have created a list of over 100 potential transactions for DHG and are currently in exclusive negotiations on two of them. "Our aim is to make DHG the clear number one in Europe in patient mobility," says Faguer.
The Chairman of DHG, Carlos Alonso, adds, "ArchiMed's investment and subsequent management of the group has enabled DHG to create a solid base for future growth throughout Europe, be that through innovative products for advancing movement and health, organic growth or M&A opportunities. We're excited about the future and rolling out our plans for the next phase in the expansion of our group."
The ArchiMed fund that holds DHG, MED Platform I, partners with growth companies in the European and North American mid-cap healthcare sectors, buying majority stakes for €50 million to €500 million in association with existing owners and managers. MED Platform I provides these platform companies with the strategic, tactical and financial resources they need to broaden product lines and expand into new regions, accelerating organic growth through an aggressive program of acquisitions.
Since it began investing in mid-2019, MED Platform I has acquired three platform companies in addition to DHG: Italy-based BOMI Group, a specialist in complex healthcare logistics, and U.S.-based NAMSA, a contract research organization offering outsourced services for clinical trials and healthcare-related testing of medical devices. Multiple buy-and-build acquisitions by all of these firms have already been completed. MED Platform I expects to announce a fourth major platform investment shortly.
2021/01/12 | ArchiMed buys Germany's Zyto Group of Cancer Diagnostics companies in partnership with owners and management
With ArchiMed's backing, the group is expected to rapidly become a European leader in diagnostics for cutting-edge, precision medical treatments for cancer.
January 12, 2021 – Private equity healthcare specialist, ArchiMed, announces its acquisition of the Zyto group of companies, a fully integrated developer, manufacturer and distributor of technologically advanced cancer diagnostics tests and equipment for hospitals, clinics and private medical practices.
Zyto's three operating companies – Zytomed, ZytoVision and 42 Life Sciences – provide doctors with the diagnostic tools they need to understand the genetic changes that occur (or don't occur) in individual patients' tumors. The approach, which is evolving quickly after recent technological and chemical advances, permits precision medical treatment, in which doctors create more effective, customized care based on a genetic understanding of how disease is evolving in individual patients.
ArchiMed is acquiring a majority stake in the group through its MED II fund, which closed on €315 million in 2017. MED II buys control of small cap healthcare companies in partnership with existing owners and staff. The founders and managers of the Zyto companies will have a significant minority shareholding in the group and will benefit from performance incentives post-transaction.
"Our internal expertise – a majority of ArchiMed team members have science backgrounds and many have operational experience in medical or pathology labs – was key to understanding the potential of Zyto's complex, industry-leading products," says ArchiMed managing partner Vincent Guillaumot. "With our backing, these companies have the resources for further product innovation and for rapid international expansion. Our aim is to bring new precision diagnostics to rare diseases such as lymphoma and leukemia." Prior to co-founding ArchiMed in 2014, Guillaumot, was the managing director of JS Bio, a French Diagnostics company that merged with Cerba, the European leader in reference labs.
Leveraging its MedTalentsTM network (a grouping of over 200 ArchiMed-associated senior healthcare industry professionals spread throughout the world), ArchiMed intends to reinforce Zyto's supervisory board with the addition of high caliber Medtech and Tissue Diagnostics professionals. Top tier recruits will also strengthen the Zyto group's international sales focus and its regulatory expertise – complementing an already exceptional management.
The Zyto investment, financed with equity and debt, is ArchiMed's third transaction in the diagnostics industry in the last 24 months. It follows the carve-out from Poland's Cormay of Diesse Diagnostica Senese, an Italian developer of innovative in vitro diagnostic systems (and a leading developer and manufacturer of a proprietary Covid-19 test) in May, 2019 and the acquisition of Austria-based point-of-care diagnostics group EUROLyser GmbH, along with its distributor, EuroLab GmbH, in February, 2019. The Zyto transaction follows another acquisition by ArchiMed in Germany: the 2017 purchase of Neurowerk, a specialist in neurodiagnostics technology. "Germany has a surfeit of superior healthcare companies looking to accelerate growth," says Guillaumot. "With a third of our investment team made up of German speakers, further acquisitions here are definitely on the cards for us."
"We are proud to partner with ArchiMed because they have a thorough understanding of the regulatory environment of Tissue Diagnostics.", says Kerstin Weyrauch, co-founder of Zytomed GmbH.
"ArchiMed's understanding of clinical challenges will further cement the position of Zytomed and ZytoVision as the partner of choice for pathologists in Germany and abroad for high-quality and innovative precision cancer diagnostics," adds Sven Hauke, co-founder of ZytoVision GmbH.
ArchiMed is an independent investment firm specialized in the Healthcare industries. It is a strategic and financial partner to European and North American companies operating in the Biopharma, Medtech, Diagnostics, Life Sciences, Healthcare IT, Consumer Health, Public Safety and Care Services sectors. ArchiMed's international team combines investment, medical, technological and operational experience. It works alongside management teams to accelerate their business growth through internationalization, product and service range expansion and capacity extension, both organically and through acquisitions. Over the last 20 years, ArchiMed's leadership team directly managed and invested in over 40 small, medium and large-size healthcare companies throughout the world, with a combined value above €5 billion. ArchiMed has over €1.7 billion (over $2 billion) under management across three funds, mid-cap-focused MED Platform I, and small-cap-focused MED I and MED II. Its investment capacity currently exceeds €1 billion and rises to twice this amount when including its strategic investment partners. ArchiMed's small-cap focused MED I fund, which raised €146 million in 2014, has returned more than six times the value of invested capital and is the top performing buyout fund on a global level for its vintage. ArchiMed seeks ESG impact in addition to profit. ArchiMed is a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment and is pledged to uphold the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
About the Zyto Group of companies
ZytoMax GmbH is a holding created from the acquisition of three companies Zytomed Systems GmbH, ZytoVision GmbH and 42 Life Sciences GmbH & Co KG. The Group is a fully integrated developer, manufacturer, and distributor of in-situ hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) cancer diagnostics tests and equipment for clinical pathology labs in hospitals and private practices. The group has a direct presence in Germany and sells its products internationally via a distribution network. ZytoMax is the fourth largest provider of IHC products and the second largest provider of ISH products in Germany. The group offers the broadest product portfolio and the highest service quality in the industry. The combined companies offer over 40,000 products, which cover IHC consumables (primary antibodies, detection systems and ancillary reagents), ISH consumables (probes, kits and reagents for both FISH and CISH, for manual use or semi-automated instruments) and automation instruments.
ArchiMed Press Contacts
2021/01/05 | ArchiMed's NAMSA announces key acquisition of Syntactx
The purchase of Syntactx reinforces NAMSA's position as the world's leading one-stop shop for complex, outsourced medical device testing.
January 5, 2021 – NAMSA, a portfolio company of global private equity healthcare specialist ArchiMed, announces the 100 percent purchase of Syntactx. NAMSA and Syntactx are contract research organizations, offering outsourced services for clinical trials and healthcare-related testing.
Toledo, Ohio-based NAMSA is the only CRO in the world focused exclusively on end-to-end services for medical devices, offering consulting, testing and complete project management through every development stage, from conception to global regulatory approval and commercialization. Syntactx, based in New York City, is a leader in electronic data capture and a specialist in analyzing and synthesizing the diverse, non-uniform elements of complex global clinical trials for medical devices. Syntactx also has a robust cardiovascular-focused regulatory consulting and clinical research practice that complements NAMSA's leading position in this sector.
"Syntactx's services and technology, its corporate values and ethics, offer a seamless fit with us," says John Gorski, NAMSA President and CEO. "Most importantly, combining NAMSA's global leadership with Syntactx's cutting edge technology is a means to proactively help our clients achieve commercial success and positively impact patient's lives." Syntactx's purchase comes in the context of growing regulatory oversight for medical device testing, which is putting a premium on CROs with complex, comprehensive capacities. The European Union, for example, is implementing new, stringent medical device testing regulations in May.
ArchiMed's midcap-focused fund, MED Platform I, acquired a majority stake in NAMSA in September. NAMSA is currently one of three MPI platform companies – firms that the fund is growing principally through multiple, ambitious buy-and-build acquisitions (e.g. NAMSA's purchase of Syntactx), while targeting organic growth that is above industry averages. MPI buys majority stakes in platform companies in Europe and the U.S. for €50 million to €500 million in association with existing owners and managers. Closing on €1 billion in September, MPI is the largest healthcare fund ever raised by a European-headquartered firm, according to data from Preqin.
"We combine financial power, industry expertise and an extensive global network of healthcare connections to provide partners with the strategic, tactical and financial resources they need to fulfill their ambitions," says ArchiMed Chairman Denis Ribon. ArchiMed's New York office – which Ribon opened in September as a complement to its Lyon, France headquarters – played a key role in the Syntactx acquisition.
As part of the deal's structure, Syntactx's existing owners and management have a significant equity stake in NAMSA. "The acquisition puts the adventure of growing this company on an even more exhilarating scale," says Dr. Kenneth Ouriel, President and CEO of Syntactx. "Together with NAMSA and ArchiMed we'll have resources to offer an unprecedented range of services and an unrivalled level of quality to clients."
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Design Agence Sand


The affairs of state of Zyten were taken over by the regent MrProper in Autumn 1990. Observers classify the midsize state as conservative social liberal plutocracy, known for its high net income and the low crime rate.
Most of the educated and egalitarian citizens are happy with the circumstances. They have a reputation to be sportive and animal-loving. Further they enjoy excellent health. Compared with other countries, the most distinctive difference is the Stock index.
Zyten is part of World Riga and is located in Middle East. The state classified as fundamentalist is considered as peace-loving and engaged in no trade.
Zyten is not a member of an alliance.
Zyten ist das zweitgrößte germanischen Heiligtum in Riga.


Thank you for achieving a goal that is a tad absurd, showing good quality soccer.
As I was waiting for my laundry to finish up, I decided to turn on my TV and low and behold, the MLS cup final, between Toronto and Seattle, was the first thing on my screen. (The game is on as I type this, so I am live-tweeting, but...writing.) Being a ravenous soccer fan, I felt obligated to watch, especially when I noticed that the game was in extra time. I must say, although my heart belongs to the European leagues, as they are simply the highest caliber, you are not disappointing me as much as you could be. The game is exciting, between Seattle and Toronto, going back and forth. The referees have put their whistles away, as they do not want to decide the game, even though putting the whistle away can decide the game, as in any sport. The fans are raucous, throwing things at the opposing team, from streamers to food containers to a beer can. The play is intense, with some harsh tackles being made and some fantastic saves by the goalkeepers. Both teams are giving it their all, even though both are out of substitute players and the players on the field are clearly exhausted. Neither team gave in, and the game is now going to penalties.
Because this is soccer. In the US, soccer has yet to reach the heights that it could. The US men's team is abysmal, usually evoking laughs when they play, from Europeans, South Americans, and Americans who follow the game alike. MLS has been trying, with numerous marketing campaigns and other efforts, but still has not attracted the calibber of player to make things exciting. The games were very slow, and boring to watch. Critics of the game will argue that soccer itself is a boring sport, but the old MLS lulled many, including this ravenous soccer fan, to sleep whenever a game was on. The MLS has attracted better caliber players, and, as seen in this game, they give their all. I admit, that this determination could be because it is the cup final and not a regular season game, but the few regular season games I saw were far better than the games of old. Fox is showing the final, which is new, because, at least in my memory, Fox has usually shown Bundesliga (the German league) or Premier League (the English league) games, which happened rarely, if ever. I'm proud of you MLS, you have finally achieved something that arguably should not have even been a goal, you are showing true soccer. I sincerely hope that one day, you can reach the heights of the Premier League and the Bundesliga.