Gimv’s Almaviva buys Arago and Domus

According to Gimv, the transaction did not involve the injection of new equity into Almaviva and was financed instead via the GP's initial €40m investment in 2013.

The bolt-on is the latest in a build-up strategy pursued by Almaviva since being created in 2007, and will lead to a merger with Arago and Domus. According to the business, the resulting group will manage 14 clinics in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur area and will thus become the region's largest private healthcare operator.

Operations in Paris will also experience a boost as Almaviva's two existing facilities in the capital will be complemented by five clinics.

The private clinic operator is expected to become France's sixth largest in the segment and generate €217m in turnover. Almaviva CEO Bruno Marie will keep his position, while Arago's Philippe Lapresle and Domus's Yves Journel will both join the group's strategic committee.

The transaction illustrates the recent consolidation trend by private-equity-backed healthcare operators in France. Notable examples include Blackstone's sale of Paris-headquartered clinic owner Vitalia to CVC Capital Partners-backed Vedici for an estimated €950m. The deal will result in a group understood to account for 12% of the entire hospitalisation market in France.

Previous funding
Almaviva was established in June 2007, when 21 Centrale Partners backed the group's inception in partnership with new CEO Bruno Marie. At the time, the GP revealed a €30-50m build-up investment strategy to create a consolidated group within the private hospitalisation sector in south-eastern France.

The first acquisition took place in December that year with Marseille-headquartered orthopaedic and ophthalmologic clinic Chanteclerc. The deal featured a unitranche facility supplied by Banque de Neuflize, which would remain as main lender in subsequent transactions.

A second transaction followed in April 2010, when 21 Partners supported the bolt-on of Marseille-based Juge Private Hospital from Vavasseur-Desperriers. According to unquote" data, the deal was valued at less than €20m.

In November 2013, 21 Partners reaped an estimated 3x when it divested its majority stake to Gimv and UI Gestion. The €80m investment, representing the maiden deal for Gimv's €200m Health & Care Fund, was split equally between both firms.

At the time, new owners stated that Almaviva would not only consolidate the south-east market, but would also seek to expand elsewhere in France. As part of the strategy, operations were set up in Paris after Gimv and UI Gestion supported the bolt-on of l'Hôpital Privé d'Evry in January 2015.

Company
Founded in 2007, Almaviva is a private clinic operator. Headquartered in Marseille, the company manages a network of 22 clinics across France and is expected to generate €220m in sales after the merger.

People
Gimv's work on the deal was coordinated by managing partner Bart Diels, principal Christophe Van Vaeck and analyst Audrey van der Bergh. UI Gestion was represented by managing partner Olivier Jarrousse and investment director Sébastien Alauzet. Bruno Marie is CEO at Almaviva.

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