LBO Partners' AMS bolts on Asdia

Ellie Pullen
23 September 2014

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LBO Partners has supported the acquisition of Strasbourg-based insulin pump developer Asdia by portfolio company AMS Group.

Capzanine arranged financing for the acquisition in the form of a unitranche facility, which has also doubled as a refinancing for the company, allowing it to pay off its existing debt.

The bolt-on follows AMS's acquisition of Alternative in 2013. The two acquisitions by AMS brings its expected combined pro forma turnover for 2014 to €50m, which AMS says means its turnover has tripled in four years.

Previous funding
LBO Partners (then CM-CIC LBO Partners) acquired AMS in January 2011 alongside CM-CIC Capital Privé, in a deal confirmed to be worth more than €25m, according to unquote" data. LBO Partners provided equity from its CIC LBO Fund II.

The two parties acquired their stake from Capzanine, which was looking to partially exit and searching for a new majority shareholder for AMS. Leonardo Midcap Corporate Finance ran the sale process for the firm, which also reinvested both equity and mezzanine into the LBO Partners-led buyout. Capzanine invested via its €325m Capzanine II fund. Palatine and CIC co-arranged a senior debt package for the deal.

At the time of the LBO Partners-led buyout, AMS employed 140 staff and generated €20m in turnover.

Capzanine acquired a 75% stake in the €30m management buyout of AMS in 2008. A €12m senior debt package was provided by CIC, Banque Palatine and Crédit du Nord. Capzanine also provided €6m of mezzanine financing.

Company
Strasbourg-headquartered Asdia was founded in 2002 when it span out from the Centre Européen Étude du Diabète. The company is a developer of insulin therapy, providing people with type 1 and 2 diabetes with insulin pumps that can be used at home.

People
Christian Moreau and Yannick Mercier are the founders of AMS. Capzanine investment director Guillaume de Jongh worked on the deal alongside LBO Partners CEO Rémi Matuchansky and investment director Astric Cloarec.

Advisers
Equity – Aurige Finance, Louis Billot, Rachid Nait Takourout, Adrien Perrachon (Corporate finance); Cabinet Soulier, Catherine Nommick, Chems Idrissi (Legal); RSA Crowe Horwath, Stéphane Coutsoloucas (Financial due diligence).
Vendor – Fidal, Joël Frey (Legal).