EQT to acquire Ardian's Lima

The transaction is foreseen to complete in H1 2016, once it has been cleared by competition regulators across several European jurisdictions.

It will see EQT become a majority shareholder via its seventh fund, which closed on its €6.75bn hard-cap in August 2015, less than six months after launch. The GP's investment in Lima remains confidential, but EQT VII typically writes equity cheques in excess of €125m.

EQT, which claims to have followed Lima Corporate for a decade prior to the takeover, will support the business as it seeks to consolidate its expansion across the global orthopaedic prostheses market.

The transaction is the latest of a series involving EQT's newest fund. The vehicle inked its maiden deal in early November, when it provided DKK 1.7bn in return for a majority stake in Danish children products retailer Top-Toy.

This was followed by the SEK 3bn takeover of Swedish vacuum technology specialist Piab from Altor and the SEK 8.7bn take-private of IFS.

Previous funding
According to unquote" data, Lima first fell into private equity hands in September 2012, when Ardian teamed up with banking group Intesa Sanpaolo to acquire a 66% stake in the business. Meanwhile, the company's management team, which previously owned the business, re-invested to keep the remaining 34%.

After adding Italo-Russian private equity joint venture MIR Capital to its shareholder base in October 2013, Lima expanded worldwide by setting up subsidiaries in Belgium, Denmark, Turkey, South Korea and South Africa, among others. The roll-out resulted in headcount increasing by a reported 30% over the last three years.

Company
Established in 1945, Lima Corporate designs and manufactures orthopaedic devices. Focused on the reconstruction of large joint and extremities, its products include recently-acquired knee implant Physical ZUK and the Discovery Total Elbow system. Headquartered in Udine, the business employs 750 staff in Italy as well as in additional European, Asian and African countries.

People
EQT's work on the deal was coordinated by partner Michael Bauer, while Ardian was represented by managing director and Italian head Nicolò Saidelli, fellow managing director Yann Chareton, senior investment manager Marco Bellino, investment manager Giacomo Forti and analyst Giorgio Cicala. Luigi Ferrari is Lima Corporate's current CEO.

Advisers
Vendor - Goldman Sachs (Corporate finance); Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli and Partners (Legal); KPMG (Financial due diligence); CBA (Tax).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Exits
• Healthcare
• Southern Europe
• Italy
• Ardian (formerly Axa PE)
• EQT
• Secondary buyout