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First bids due for TA's Laboratoires Vivacy

  • Francesca Veronesi, Barbara Pianese and Maryna Irkliyenko
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First-round bids were being collected on 26 November for France-based Laboratoires Vivacy, an injectable medical devices specialist, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

BNP Paribas is advising the company's owners, entrepreneur Waldemar Kita and sponsor TA Associates, two of the sources added.

The company is marketed based on adjusted-forward-EBITDA of EUR 34m and cash EBITDA of 32m, these two sources added. Two other sources mentioned the company currently generates around EUR 30m in EBITDA.

HTL, a French producer of hyaluronic acid for medical applications, operates in the same space, one source said. Earlier in November, HTL awarded sale exclusivity to Montagu and Partners Group.

"HTL was a no-brainer, while Vivacy, despite operating in the same area, raises more questions," one source said. Vivacy was somewhat impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, as fewer non-urgent surgery procedures took place last year, one of the sources added.

Financial investigations faced by Waldemar Kita add a level of complexity to the sale, two of the sources added.

Kita, who is the owner of Football Club de Nantes, holds a stake of around 50% in Vivacy, two of the sources said. A long-running investigation into tax fraud allegations concerning Kita is ongoing, as reported by French media. It was handed over to an examining magistrate in September.

Kita took control of Vivacy in 2016, as per a French press report. TA made an undisclosed investment in Vivacy in 2019.

Last year, the business was planning to invest EUR 25m-30m to create a new site in France and help the company double its production capacities. The business was also intending to open subsidiaries in Benelux, Spain and Germany, and expand in the Asia-Pacific area.

Headquartered in Paris and founded in 2007, Vivacy is a manufacturer of injectable medical devices based on hyaluronic acid, used for aesthetic treatments. According to the company's website, 80% of its revenue stream is generated outside France, and its injectable products are available in 80 countries around the world. It employed 150 people as of last year, as per a Les Echos report.

BNP Paribas, TA Associates and Laboratoires Vivacy did not respond to requests for comment.

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