EQT exits BSN Medical in €2.74bn trade sale

The GP acquired the group in 2012 through an SBO from Montagu Private Equity; the transaction valued BSN at €1.82bn.

EQT acquired BSN four years ago with a view to reinforce its market position and accelerate its growth. During the holding period, the GP invested in research and development, and in the recruitment of new staff. The group's sales grew to €860m and its staff to 6,000 employees worldwide, from €665m and 4,000 staff four years ago, EQT said in a statement.

SCA is a Stockholm-headquartered global hygiene and pulp-and-paper products company. It has around 44,000 employees and the group's sales amounted to approximately SEK 115bn (€12.3bn) in the last financial year.

The acquirer hopes to exploit synergies between the businesses, which it believes will help BSN to continue to expand internationally and bolster production.

The agreement with SCA is still subject to customary anti-trust clearance and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017.

Previous funding
In June 2012, EQT acquired BSN from Montagu for €1.82bn. The deal saw the management team reinvest its proceeds alongside EQT.

EQT made the investment via EQT VI fund, which closed on €4.75bn in October 2011. Montagu, which had acquired the business for €1.03bn in 2006 via the Montagu III fund, had reportedly helped the business grow its sales by 30% during its holding period, and had supported the bolt-on acquisitions of five businesses.

The EQT deal was supported by a senior debt and mezzanine package, which was believed to amount to €1.13bn at around 6-7x EBITDA. Senior debt was arranged by Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley, while the €391.5m mezzanine component was supplied by Highbridge, MezzVest, Partners Group and JP Morgan.

Company
BSN was founded in 2001 as a joint venture between medical companies Smith & Nephew and Beiersdorf. The business manufactures and distributes medical supplies in three key segments: wound care, compression therapy and orthopaedics. It operates under the brands Leukoplast, Cutimed, Jobst, Delta Cast, Delta Lite, Actimove and others.

Based in Hamburg, BSN operates production facilities in Germany, France, Colombia, Mexico, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, the US and Venezuela. It currently has sales of €860m and counts 6,000 employees worldwide.

People
EQT Partners – Michael Bauer (partner).
BSN Medical – Dr Guido Oelkers (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – JP Morgan (corporate finance); Morgan Stanley (corporate finance); EY (financial due diligence); Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (legal).

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