Ardian, Keensight, Parquest acquire Unither

The deal was announced at the end of last year but came to completion this week. In November, unquote" reported the enterprise value to be worth around €675m for the deal. 

The new consortium of investors, led by Ardian, are taking a majority stake in the group. The management team, led by CEO Eric Goupil, was expected to reinvest €100m in the deal.

For Parquest, it is the third time the GP renews its commitment to Unither, after coming on board as majority owner in 2006 and staying on as minority shareholder in 2011, when Equistone took over the group. 

During Equistone's holding period, Unither's turnover grew from €150m to €260m. The investor put a stress on developing the group internationally, helping it enter the US and Brazilian markets.

The new GPs will keep supporting the group's strategy for sustained global growth, the company said in a statement, focusing on the US and South America where it already manages manufacturing plants. Unither said it would also aim to enter the Asian market soon, through potential acquisition opportunities. 

Equistone declined to comment on the deal when contacted by unquote".

Debt
The transaction was supported by a B tranche senior debt arranged by BNP Paribas, Natixis and Credit Agricole CIB. The debt could amount to €220-320m, according to unquote" sister news site Mergermarket.  

According to the same source, Unither is also expected to arrange an additional €80m financing when closing the deal, including a non-refinanced operational debt and a credit line provided by BPI France, which will replace the unitranche debt granted by Ardian in 2011.

Previous funding
In 2011, Equistone backed the secondary buyout of Unither, acquiring the group from Parquest (then known as ING Parcom), CM-CIC and Picardie Investissement. Previous owner ING reinvested in the transaction, alongside historical backers CM-CIC and Picardie. The three vendors remained minority shareholders. Ardian provided financing to leverage the transaction. According to unquote" data, the deal was valued at €90m and the company had revenues of €151m at the time.

Prior to that, ING led a €75m secondary buyout from SG Capital in 2006. ING acquired a majority stake, while previous investors Picardie and CIC Finance reinvested in the newco.The deal was leveraged with a €38m debt package underwritten by CIC Scalbert Dupont and Capzanine, which arranged a €15m mezzanine facility. The latter syndicated a significant part of the mezzanine credit to Ardian. Under ING's ownership, turnover doubled from €72m to €151m.

Company
Founded in 1993 following the takeover of a Sanofi facility in Amiens, Unither Pharmaceuticals is a contract development and manufacturing organisation. Products manufactured by the group include sterile unit-doses, non-sterile liquids, liquid sticks, and both solid and semi-solid medications for the pharmaceutical and generic drugs industries.

Unither operates six manufacturing sites and one R&D centre in France, the US and Brazil. The group generates revenues in excess of €260m and has 1,200 staff.

People
Ardian – Philippe Poletti (head of mid-cap buyout); Mathieu Antonini (managing director); Alexandre Vannelle (director); Corentin Lacourte (investment manager); Edmond Delamalle (analyst); Marion Massoni (analyst). 
Equistone Partners Europe – Guillaume Jacqueau (managing partner); Stanislas Gaillard (partner); Thierry Lardinois (director).
Keensight Capital - Pierre Remy (managing partner); Magdalena Svensson (investment director); Guillaume Lefebvre (associate director); Nicolas Ulrich (analyst).
Parquest Capital - Denis Le Chevallier (partner), Laurence Bouttier (partner), Vincent Warlop (investment manager), Camille Ronsin (associate). 

Advisers
Equity – Edmond de Rothschild Corporate Finance, Christian Ménard, Laure Klein (corporate finance); Rothschild & Co, Laurent Baril, Robert Rozemulder (M&A); DLA Piper, Xavier Norlain, Bertrand Levy, Matthieu Aublé, Guillame Valois, Emilie Renaud (legal, tax); Goodwin, Maxence Bloch, Benjamin Garçon, Aurélien Diday (legal); Latham & Watkins, Xavier Farde, Carla-Sophie Imperadeiro (legal); Boston Consulting Group, Olivier Wierzba, Marc Becker, Aymeric Le Renard (commercial due diligence); Deloitte, Sami Rahal, Frédérique Chenevoy (financial due diligence).
Vendor – Axys Finance, Didier Izabel, Sandrine Chouard (corporate finance); Lazard, Nicolas Constant, François Guichot Perere, Frederic Rothenburger (corporate finance); BNP Paribas, Sylvina Mayer, Michael Nebot, Elena Colucelli-Guerin, Marie-Charlotte Bonnemay (corporate finance); Lamartine Conseil, Olivier Renault, Fabien Mauvais (legal) ; Roland Berger, Patrick Biecheler, Pierre-Antoine Bodin (commercial due diligence); Eight Advisory, Pascal Raidron, Katia Wagner, Cyrille Palitzyne (financial due diligence); Arsène Taxand, Frédéric Teper, Olivier Janoray (tax).
Debt – Gide, Eric Cartier-Millon (legal). 

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• Topics
• Exits
• Buyouts
• France
• Healthcare
• France
• Ardian (formerly Axa PE)
• Equistone Partners Europe
• Secondary buyout