Doxx to collect initial bids amid fierce midmarket sponsor interest

Patrick Costello and Johannes Koch
28 February 2022

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Doxx, a German digital healthcare staffing specialist, is drawing interest from a swathe of private equity players as it gears up to collect indicative this week, four sources familiar with the situation said.

Non-binding offers for the privately-held company are due today (28 February), the first two sources said.

IK Partners, Deutsche Private Equity, Ardian, Chequers, Triton, PAI, Equistone and Rivean Capital (formerly known as Gilde Buy Out Partners) are among the extensive list of midmarket-focused sponsors expected to submit offers for Doxx, the sources said.

Given the competitive nature of the auction, some of the keenest bidders have already submitted initial offers, the first source said.

"This is a process where you need to be in the lead, not just hanging in," the source continued.

Doxx is being marketed off FY21 EBITDA of EUR 14m in the Alantra-led sale, based on LTM to October 2021, as reported. It was expected to be marketed off EUR 15m-EUR 20m EBITDA in pre-sale chatter, the news service wrote in November. "The truth lies somewhere in the middle," one of the sources said.

A confluence of factors has made Doxx an exceptionally attractive proposition, as reported. It operates in a market with long-term growth prospects as hospitals continue to rely on temporary staffing to plug supply gaps and no regulatory risks stand in the way of this development. It is further boosted by being the number two in its sector in Germany behind the highly regarded number one player doctari, a Vitruvian-backed healthcare staffing platform.

The German market for digital healthcare staffing is likewise less developed than in countries like the UK, one of the sources said. "So two things are coming together here, a hot sector and a German market that needs to play catchup," the sources continued, adding "you probably can't go wrong with this."

Still, Doxx lacks some uniqueness and its likeness to Doctari could be considered a liability, as reported.

"It's a hot asset but, at the end of the day, it's a couple guys facilitating the movement of doctors across hospitals," the first source commented.

Founded in 2010, Heidelberg-based Doxx is owned and run by founder Konrad Schumm. It has 75 employees supporting the placement of medical staff and doctors at hospitals, clinics and medical practices in Germany.

Doxx reported EUR 8.5m EBIT on the back of EUR 41.5m sales in 2019, nearly double the EUR 4.5m EBIT and EUR 22.5m sales it booked in 2018, according to its most recently available financial filings.

IK, Ardian, Triton, PAI and Equistone declined to comment. Alantra, Doxx, Chequers, Deutsche Private Equity and Rivean did not respond to a request for comment.