Gilde Healthcare closes fourth buyout fund on EUR 517m

Rachel Lewis
16 March 2022

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Healthcare specialist Gilde Healthcare has raised EUR 517m for its fourth buyout fund to push a buy-and-build strategy in the lower-mid market in Northwest Europe, Managing Partner Jaspar van Gorp told Unquote.

Gilde Healthcare Private Equity IV (GHPE IV) closed on its hard cap and is more than double the size of its predecessor, Gilde Healthcare Services III, which held a final close in March 2019 on EUR 200m.

Healthcare Services III is nearly fully deployed and is just making its final platform deal, van Gorp said.

Deals under the predecessor include cannula manufacturer Acti-Med and the later merger of Europin, and development consultancy Klifo.

The GP did not use a placement agent to raise GHPE IV and the vehicle follows typical terms and conditions, van Gorp confirmed.

In addition to its buyout strategy, the GP also has a venture and growth fund strategy, with the latest Gilde Healthcare V closing on USD 450m in March 2020.

Investors
Gilde said that Private Equity IV was oversubscribed and attracted institutional investors from the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Scandinavia. Nearly all of Gilde's existing LPs re-upped, said van Gorp.

Investments
GHPE IV will invest in profitable healthcare companies with a sweet spot of EUR 10m EBITDA, van Gorp said. Gilde will invest tickets of EUR 20m to EUR 100m across the entire buy-and-build strategy with the potential for co-investment from LPs, he added.

The fund will make up to 10 deals across a decade long life span, targeting buy-and-builds in the healthcare provision, service providers, medical supplies and pharmaceuticals sectors, Gorp said. These roll-ups can sometimes triple or quadruple the size of the business over the holding period, he added.

"We felt we had some constraints on the previous fund," said van Gorp. "Especially on the buy-and-build, pursuing all of the acquisitions we wanted to."

A key investment strategy for the new fund is buy-and-build. Gilde has historically targeted similar growth plans in the CRO and medical products sectors, where it closed two deals last year and is currently working on a third.

Gilde is also interested in speciality pharma, with products targeted at small patient groups; healthcare IT including cost and outcome management; and suppliers to hospitals.

The fund will invest in Northwest Europe, which van Gorp defines as Benelux, DACH, Scandinavia and UK & Ireland.

The fund's LPs were impressed with the number of proprietary deals on old funds, said van Gorp, adding that Gilde mostly buys from founders.

People
Gilde Healthcare – Jaspar van Gorp (managing partner).