JB Capital sells Vitaldent Italia to BC Partners' DentalPro

Alessia Argentieri
03 February 2021

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JB Capital Markets has sold dental clinics business Vitaldent Italia to BC Partners-backed DentalPro.

The acquisition was financed through an equity investment by BC Partners and DentalPro's other shareholders.

The agreement will see DentalPro take control of Vitaldent's 80 dental practices and integrate them into DentalPro's network and brand.

With this acquisition, the group will be comprised of 260 dental centres spread across 14 regions in Italy, and will employ approximately 2,000 staff including more than 1,500 dentists and hygienists.

In the coming months, the group intends to continue to pursue a buy-and-build strategy, while opening new practices and expanding into new geographies.

BC Partners acquired DentalPro in 2017 from Summit Partners, Vam Investments and other private investors, in a deal valuing the company in the €350-400m range.

Following the acquisition, BC Partners held a controlling stake in the business, while the company's management team retained a minority stake, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Established in 2010 and based in Milan, DentalPro manages 112 dental care clinics in Italy, offering general dentistry services, as well as implants, prostheses and orthodontics. The company partners with local dentists and provides them with practice management support and training.

The deal ends a five-years holding period for JB Capital, which invested in Vitaldent alongside ICG. JB bought a 70% stake, while ICG acquired a 25% holding.

JB sold the Spanish division of Vitaldent to Advent International in June 2019, retaining a minority holding in the company. Advent deployed capital from its $17.5bn Advent International GPE IX fund, while a debt package was provided by Pemberton to support the deal.

Company
Vitaldent Italia operates a network of 80 dental clinics across Italy. The company offers a wide range of services, including surgery, implants, endodontics, cosmetic dentistry, dental prosthesis and paediatric dentistry.

People
DentalPro – Michel Cohen (CEO).
JB Capital – Rafal Garabito (managing director).

Advisers
Equity – PwC (financial due diligence); White & Case (legal); Facchini-Rossi-Michelutti (tax).
Company – Cleon Capital (corporate finance); Studio lusCounsel (legal); Studio Mastrangelo (tax).

Advent International has acquired a controlling stake in Spain-based dental clinics network Vitaldent from JB Capital Markets, which will retain a minority holding in the company.

Advent deployed capital from its Advent International GPE IX fund, which has recently held a final close on its $17.5bn hard-cap after six months on the road. The fund invests in buyout transactions across North America, Europe and Asia and deploys equity tickets of between $100m-1bn for companies with enterprise value in the $200m-5bn range.

In addition to the equity from the fund, a debt package was provided by Pemberton to support the deal, Unquote understands.