Ardian invests in Santédiscount

While Ardian did not disclose financial details of the transaction, it is understood that Santédiscount's co-founders, who launched the group in 2008 in Toulouse, will retain control of their company alongside Loïc Lagarde, appointed as managing director in 2014 and previously a strategy associate at Google.

The support provided by Ardian Growth will enable Santédiscount to develop its product offering and build on the growth achieved by the founding team, the GP said in a statement.

Ardian Growth typically invests €2-10m tickets – or up to €20m in case of co-investments – in SMEs with a turnover within the €5-100m range. For Santédiscount, the deal comes shortly after its takeover of Comptoir Santé, previously owned by supermarket chain Casino. The group reportedly targets €100m in revenues by 2015.

Company
Santédiscount is an online health and beauty retailer established in 2008 by two pharmacists. Based in Toulouse, Santédiscount offers a range of low-cost products (food supplements, condoms, first aid items, sun screen, etc), with 25,000 product lines sourced from 650 pharmaceutical laboratories. The site offers guidance from qualified pharmacists who advise customers on their purchases by telephone, email and through social networks.

The group reportedly posted €15m in turnover in 2015.

People
Ardian – Laurent Foata (head of Ardian Growth); Romain Chiudini (senior investment manager).

Advisers
Equity – Dechert, Matthieu Grollemund, Hélène Parent, Raphaël Sendowski (legal); Grant Thornton, Marc Claverie, Clément Joachim (corporate finance).
Company – Bieler & Franck, Sébastien Franck (legal).

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• Topics
• Expansion
• France
• Consumer
• France
• Ardian (formerly Axa PE)