IK in €300-350m deal to acquire Marle from Carlyle

Alice Tchernookova
25 May 2016

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IK Investment Partners has reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in orthopaedic implants specialist Groupe Marle in a deal valued between €300-350m.

IK will be taking over from previous majority shareholder Carlyle and is investing from its IK VII buyout fund, closed on €1.4bn in October 2013.

While the precise deal value has not been disclosed, a source close to the deal told unquote" the price sits between the €300-350m range.

Carlyle had acquired 80% of Marle in 2009 through its Europe Technology Fund, with the founding Marle family and the management team retaining 20% of the company.

Following this latest acquisition, Carlyle's share will be reduced to 20%, while the management team and family will retain 20% too. IK's share will therefore amount to 60%.

Under Carlyle's management, the company has expanded significantly, with a 15% yearly organic growth over the last three years. The group made various investments in the production process and broadened its span of technologies and products through the acquisitions of several sites in France, including SEEP, ATS and Sferic in 2011, as well as Finortho in 2015.

IK will aim to support the management team, led by CEO Antonio Gil, and implement its growth strategy by leveraging the existing client base and pursuing targeted acquisition opportunities. IK will aim at a 10% yearly growth for the next few years.

The source also indicated this could be the first of a series of investments in medtech at IK.

Debt financing for the transaction was provided by Capzanine.

Company
Marle specialises in orthopaedic implants. It provides specialised manufacturing services for the production of a range of hip, knee, shoulder, spine and extremities implants, as well as orthopaedic instruments. The company acts as a strategic partner to medical technology companies worldwide and delivers 1 million products annually. Its services span Europe, the US, Latin America, Russia, Japan, South Korea and China.

Founder Bernard Marle has developed Marle since 1978 from a forging operation with 11 employees to its current roster of 220 staff. The Marle group is composed of Marle SA, which conducts specialist forging and machining, and HMP (Haute Marne Parachevement), a finishing company with expertise in both manual and mechanical polishing.

The company is headquartered in Nogent and runs six production sites in France. It generated revenues of €82m in 2015 with EBITDA of €25m.

People
Carlyle Technology Partners – Vladimir Lasocki (managing director); Charles Villet (associate director).
IK Investment Partners – Rémi Buttiaux (partner); Dan Soudry (COO); Vincent Elriz (associate director); Thibaut Richard (associate).

Advisers
Equity – KPMG, Frederic Thomas, Bertrand Vigner (commercial due diligence); PwC, Martin Naquet-Radiguet, Sofia Bennis (financial due diligence); Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Eduardo Fernandez, Grégory de Saxcé, Paul Lombard (legal).
Vendor – Natixis Partners, François Rivalland, Nicolas Segretain, Julien Plantive, Emilie Petit (M&A); AT Kearney, Jérôme Souied (commercial due diligence); Accuracy, Nicolas Barsalou (financial due diligence); DLA Piper, Xavier Norlain (legal).