Warburg Pincus invests in ArchiMed-backed Polyplus

A source familiar with the sitation told Unquote that the deal values the company at €550m. The source also said that a small debt package was provided to finance the deal.

The company records EBITDA of around €15-20m, according to press reports.

ArchiMed reaped a realised return of 40x on this investment, another source told Unquote.

Following the transaction, ArchiMed and Warburg Pincus will be equal shareholders with the same voting rights, while the management of Polyplus will retain a minority.

ArchiMed's proceeds from the sale of part of its stake in Polyplus will be distributed among its investors. 

The company intends to use the fresh capital to advance the development and sale of its solutions for the delivery of nucleic acids, aimed at the research and biologics-based production of therapeutic drugs and vaccines.

The investment will also enable the company to further expand its production capacity, fuel continued innovation in products, and support key growth initiatives. In addition, Polyplus intends to focus on international expansion, and increase recruitment across its technical, regulatory and commercial support functions.

European PE healthcare specialist ArchiMed acquired a 90% stake in Polypus in September 2016. The investment was made through its inaugural €150m Med I fund, which built a portfolio of nine companies. Prior to ArchiMed's Polyplus sale, Med I had already exited two investments: French healthcare ingredients company HIS, sold for 2.5x invested capital (400% IRR) in 2017; and Italian dental clinic chain Primo, sold to Milan-based PE firm Aksìa for 3x ArchiMed's investment (36% annualised return) in 2019.

ArchiMed is currently deploying its second pan-European healthcare-dedicated vehicle, Med II, which reached a €315m final close after four months on the road and is now almost fully deployed. Meanwhile, ArchiMed is investing its MED Platform I fund, which was launched in 2018 with an €800m target and has raised more than €530m so far.

Under ArchiMed's ownership, Polyplus's revenues have increased tenfold. 

Previous funding
Polyplus raised €610,000 from Avenir Finance Gestion in September 2001. CIC Finance subsequently led a €2m funding round for the company alongside existing investor Avenir in March 2003. The company's shareholders led a further €1.2m funding round in December 2009.

Techfund Capital Europe and several CIC investment arms provided Polyplus with €2.5m in funding in January 2011. Techfund invested €1m through its €13.8m AIRFI fund, while Sudinnova – an investment company of CIC Banque de Vizile – provided €500,000. Existing investors CIC Vizille Capital Innovation and CIC Finance invested the remainder of the round.

Company
Founded in 2001 as a spinout from the genetic chemistry laboratory at the University of Strasbourg, Polypus is a biotech company specialising in gene and cell therapy, along with other biologics manufacturing and life science research with innovative nucleic acid transfection solutions. Its products are used for investigating gene functions, virus production, protein delivery and gene editing.

The Polyplus procedure for the transport of therapeutic materials into cells is used by most Covid-19 vaccine projects, according to the company.

People
ArchiMed – Denis Ribon (chair); Loïc Kubitza (partner).
Warburg Pincus – TJ Carella (managing director); Ruoxi Chen (principal).
Polyplus – Karsten Wilking (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Kirkland & Ellis (legal); Jefferies (corporate finance); Dechert (legal); EY (financial due diligence).
Company – PwC (tax).

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