Gilde, PGGM buy Mercachem-Syncom

The GP initiated the merger of Mercachem and Syncom simultaneously with the buyout, and the two management teams will take a joint minority stake via the same holding company.

The debt has been structured to support annual growth of 10-15% and was arranged by ING Bank, according to a source close to the situation. The combined group will target further growth by organic expansion as well as acquisitions.

Gilde drew equity from Gilde Healthcare Services II, a €100m small-cap buyout fund that is approximately 70% deployed after this transaction.

Company
Mercachem and Syncom are both European drug discovery contract research organisations with headquarters in the Netherlands. Syncom was founded in 1988 and Mercachem started in 1997. The combined group will have operations in the Czech Republic as well as the Netherlands, and will generate €30m in revenues with 300 staff.

People
Gilde Healthcare – Hugo de Bruin (partner); Matteo Racca (investment manager).
Mercachem – Eelco Ebbers (managing director).
Syncom – Ton Vries (CEO).

Advisers
Company – Saola Healthcare Partners (M&A).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Benelux
• Healthcare
• Gilde Buy Out Partners
• Netherlands