IK to acquire Kersia from Ardian

The deal will be the first investment from IK IX, which held a final close on its €2.85bn hard-cap in May 2020. The vehicle seeks to invest in mid-market companies in northern Europe with enterprise values of €100-500m, providing equity tickets of €50-150m for approximately 18 companies.

Under the French GP's ownership, Kersia bolted on German company Anti-Germ from Paragon Partners in 2017; French rival LCB Food Safety; Brazilian company G3; Scottish company Kilco; Canadian company Choisy Laboratories; and UK-based rival Holchem.

Mergermarket reported at the end of November 2019 that Ardian was planning to launch the sale of Kersia and had mandated Sycomore and Evercore to run the process; the deal was expected to be complete by Q1 2020.

It also reported three sources as saying the EBITDA figure upon which Kersia will be marketed was expected to be €50-80m.  

French publication Capital Finance reported the company's EBITDA as being €60m, up from €47m after its recent acquisition of Holchem. 

The transaction is subject to approval from regulatory authorities.

Previous funding
Ardian acquired Hypred in 2016 and merged it with Anti-Germ, forming a new company called Kersia Group. It bought the buy-ann-build platform for an undisclosed consideration. 

Company
Formed in 2016 and headquartered in Dinard, Kersia brings together food safety specialists Anti-Germ, LCB Food Safety, G3, Kilco, Choisy Laboratories and Holchem.

The group provides products and services to prevent disease and contamination in both animals and humans along the supply chain. It has 1,500 employees at 23 industrial sites, and sells its products in 120 countries. It generates €300m in revenues.

People
Kersia – Sebastien Bossard (CEO).
IK Investment Partners – Dan Soudry (managing partner).
Ardian – Thibault Basquin (managing director).

Advisers
Equity – Amala Partners (financial due diligence); Natixis Partners (financial due diligence); Willkie Farr & Gallagher (legal); Bain & Company (strategic due diligence); Eight Advisory (financial due diligence); KPMG (tax).
Vendor – Evercore (financial due diligence); Sycomore Corporate Finance (financial due diligence); Latham & Watkins (legal); Bain & Company (strategic due diligence); Accuracy (financial due diligence); Arsene Taxand (tax); Aecom (environmental due diligence); Marsh (insurance due diligence).
Company – Claris Avocats (legal); ManageMens (financial due diligence).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• France
• IK Investment Partners
• Ardian (formerly Axa PE)
• France
• Secondary buyout