Kester Capital backs Optibrium

Alessia Argentieri
09 February 2021

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Kester Capital has acquired a majority stake in drug discovery software developer Optibrium.

Following the deal, Optibrium CEO Matt Segall and chief scientific officer Ed Champness will continue in their existing roles to drive the future growth of the business.

Kester plans to develop the business through organic growth and external acquisitions.

The GP is investing in the company via its second fund, Kester Capital II, which closed on its £90m hard-cap in August 2020.

This is the third deal made by Kester in the life sciences sector, following its investments in Frontier Medical in 2013 and Avania in 2016.

Company
Founded in 2009, Optibrium is a drug discovery software provider to the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Its flagship product is StarDro, a platform of integrated software for small molecule design, optimisation and data analysis that enhances the speed and productivity of the drug discovery process.

Headquartered in Cambridge, UK, Optibrium has additional US offices in Boston and San Francisco.

People
Kester Capital – Adam Maidment (managing partner).
Optibrium – Matt Segall (CEO); Ed Champness (chief scientific officer).

Advisers
Equity – Burness Paull (legal); BDO (financial due diligence); AJ Gallagher (insurance due diligence).
Company – Taylor Vinters (legal).