Ardian exits Riemser

Ardian acquired a majority stake in Riemser in August 2012. Bayerische Landesbank, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, GE Capital, HSH Nordbank, ING and Unicredit provided a €155m all-senior debt package for the deal.

Riemser acquired a number of companies during the investment period, including pharmaceutical sales and marketing company Zaltanpharma in October 2019, which was renamed Riemser Iberia, as reported by Mergermarket. According to a statement from Ardian, the company acquired France-based Keocyt in 2014 and UK-based Intrapharm in 2015. In 2016, it bought the CNS division of Dolorgiet, broadening its product portfolio in the therapeutic area of neurology.

In July 2016, UBS and other investors led a €286m round of debt refinancing for Riemser. The package comprised a €256m term loan, a €10m rolling credit facility and a €20m capex facility, which was used to refinance existing debt and pay a dividend to Ardian.

Unquote sister publication Mergermarket reported in October 2017 that Ardian had hired Jefferies and Rothschild to lead the sale process for Riemser, with an expected value of €500m. In May 2018, the publication reported that the sale process had slowed due to a lack of interested bidders, according to two sources familiar with the situation. The pricing expectation was approximately 12x EBITDA at the time, with the company being marketed based on €40m adjusted EBITDA and €36m reported 2017 EBITDA. Riemser targeted €42.9m adjusted EBITDA on €130.8m in revenues in 2018.

The sale process was relaunched in May 2019, according to Mergermarket. with Rothschild and Jefferies remaining financial advisers to Ardian. Ardian was seeking a valuation of 10x EBITDA at the time.

Final bids were received in November 2019, according to Mergermarket. Ardian continued to seek a value of €400m, or approximately 10x EBITDA, with PE bidders including Capvest. In September, Riemser reported sales of €95.85m versus €103m budgeted, and its EBITDA was €33.03m versus €34.41m budgeted. There were also reportedly concerns regarding the imminent end of the licence period for Riemser's Tepadina, with one source telling Mergermarket that the company and its portfolio may only be worth 4-5x EBITDA without this.

Ardian declined to comment.

Company
Riemser was founded in 1991. The business focuses on sales, marketing and lifecycle management of prescription medication, in particular in the areas of oncology, anti-infectives, dermatology and dentistry. Its core markets are Germany, France, Spain and the UK, and it distributes products in 50 countries. The company is headquartered in Greifswald and employs 200 full-time-equivalent staff.

The company reported 2017 revenues of €119.7m. It reported 2018 EBITDA of €41m on gross sales of €131.1m. Around 80% of its current revenues are generated from products with clinical applications.

People
Riemser – Konstantin von Alvensleben (CEO).
Esteve – Staffan Schüberg (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Jefferies (corporate finance); Rothschild (corporate finance).
Acquirer – Perella Weinberg Partners (corporate finance).

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• Topics
• Exits
• DACH
• Healthcare
• Trade sale
• Germany
• Ardian (formerly Axa PE)