Monthly Archives: May 2018

ARDIAN PRIVATE DEBT and EQT Credit provide financing for HG’S investment in MEDIFOX

Ardian

Frankfurt, May 11, 2018. Ardian Private Debt and EQT Credit, through its Mid-Market investment strategy,
today announce they have provided a senior secured financing solution to support Hg’s (“Hg”) investment in
MediFox.
Founded in 1994, MediFox is a leading provider of software solutions to over 6,000 ambulatory care services,
elderly care homes and therapists in Germany. Its software solutions support care providers with key services
including resource and route planning, care and support documentation, management information systems, as
well as billing, factoring and administration services. It is headquartered in Hildesheim, Germany and employs
265 people.

Mark Brenke, Managing Director & Co-Head Ardian Private Debt, said: “As a financing partner, we are delighted
to be supporting the MediFox management team of Christian Städtler and Dr. Thorsten Schliebe together with
Hg who have a strong track record of investing in technology-enabled B2B service businesses. MediFox is the
leading software provider in the German care services market, leveraging its proprietary technology platform to
support the digitalisation of the care services segment”.

ABOUT ARDIAN
Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$67bn managed or advised in Europe,
North America and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its
heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base. Through its
commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and
economic growth around the world.
Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global
network, with more than 500 employees working from thirteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey,
London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), North America (New York, San Francisco) and Asia
(Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo). It manages funds on behalf of c.700 clients through five pillars of investment
expertise: Private Debt, Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure and Real Estate.

Follow Ardian on Twitter @Ardian
www.ardian.com

PRESS CONTACTS
ARDIAN
Headland
TOM JAMES
tjames@headlandconsultancy.com
Tel: +44 207 3675 240

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The Carlyle Group Agrees to Sell ADT Caps to SK Telecom and MIRA for KRW 2,970 Billion

Carlyle

Seoul, Korea — Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group (“Carlyle”, NASDAQ: CG) today announced it has agreed to sell ADT Caps, the second largest security services provider in Korea, to SK Telecom (“SKT”, KRW:017670) and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (“MIRA”) for KRW 2,970 billion (USD 2.76 billion). SKT is the largest telecommunication operator in Korea and MIRA is one of the largest infrastructure asset managers globally. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2018.

The Carlyle Group acquired ADT Caps through Carlyle Asia Partners IV and Carlyle Partners VI in 2014 from Tyco. During Carlyle’s ownership, ADT Caps drove top-line growth through new product introductions, cross-selling, and channel development, and improved operating efficiencies by reducing false signals per account and dispatches per account, while upgrading service quality through technological development. By partnering with Jinhwan Choi, CEO of ADT Caps and the management team, Carlyle has supported the business to become the most profitable security services player in Korea.

Sanghyun Lee, Managing Director of The Carlyle Group, said, “ADT Caps is a great example of Carlyle’s ability to create value through operational improvements and partnering with excellent management teams. It is an honor to have had such a journey with thousands of experts who make Korea a safer place. I am glad that we found the SKT-MIRA consortium as ADT Caps’ strong new partner.”

Jinhwan Choi, CEO of ADT Caps, said, “The Carlyle Group has been a fantastic partner for ADT Caps and our management team over the last four years as we have re-established our security services leadership in Korea. The acquisition by the SKT-MIRA consortium provides the business and the management with a phenomenal opportunity to continue delivering best-in-class central monitoring services to our customers, leveraging SKT’s leading AI and IoT technology.”

Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Latham & Watkins, Lee & Ko, and PwC advised Carlyle on this transaction.

Carlyle has invested more than US$1.5 billion of equity in more than 20 transactions in Korea as of March 31, 2018.

 

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About The Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager with $201 billion of assets under management across 324 investment vehicles as of March 31, 2018. Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, many of whom are public pensions. Carlyle invests across four segments – Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Credit and Investment Solutions – in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,575 people in 31 offices across six continents.

Web: www.carlyle.com

Videos: www.youtube.com/onecarlyle

Tweets: www.twitter.com/onecarlyle

Podcasts: www.carlyle.com/about-carlyle/market-commentary

 

About ADT Caps

ADT Caps is a provider of advanced security solutions in Korea, serving more than 427,000 customers through a network of 69 branches nationwide. The business provides central monitoring services, with video surveillance and dispatch, access control and other customized security solutions as well as guarding services. The business is headquartered in Seoul, Korea, with approximately 7,500 employees.

www.adtcaps.co.kr

 

Media Contacts:

Brian Zhou

+86 10 57067070

brian.zhou@carlyle.com

 

Tammy Li

+852 2878 5236

tammy.li@carlyle.com

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Altor enters into partnership with Gnist

Altor

On May 1st, Altor Fund IV (“Altor”) signed an agreement to enter into a partnership and acquire a majority of the Norwegian preschool chain Gnist Barnehager AS (“Gnist”) from founders and owners Kjersti and Bjørn Grønmyr. Kjersti and Bjørn will continue to stay active and own a minority stake in the company.

Gnist is a preschool chain with a unique concept focusing on a systematic approach to operations, supported by good practices. This ensures high and consistent quality in all Gnist preschools, with focus on the child’s individual needs and close cooperation with highly satisfied parents. The approach ensures that each child is given individual attention, follow-up and feels included in order to enable them to learn and grow at their own pace. Gnist Barnehager currently owns 17 preschools in Møre & Romsdal, Trøndelag and Hordaland.

”We are proud to enter into this partnership with Kjersti and Bjørn,“ says Maria Tallaksen, Partner at Altor. “We are impressed with Gnist, their employees and their approach and we are excited that Kjersti and Bjørn will stay on to develop Gnist Barnehager further,” Maria Tallaksen continues.

”In Altor we have found a partner that will uphold our core values,” says founder and manager Kjersti Grønmyr. “We will continue to be engaged, competent, efficient and innovative and through this ensure that each child has a caring, safe and developing time at our preschools,” Kjersti Grønmyr continues.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory requirements and approvals.

For more information, please contact:
Børre Andreassen, Head of Communication at Gnist, Tel: +47 92 04 91 20
Maria Tallaksen, Partner at Altor, Tel: +47 90 16 88 73

About Altor
Since inception, the family of Altor funds has raised some EUR 5.8 billion in total commitments. The funds have invested in excess of EUR 3.8 billion in more than 40 companies. The investments have been made in medium sized Nordic companies with the aim to create value through growth initiatives and operational improvements. Among current and past investments are Lindorff, Helly Hansen, Carnegie, Spectrum, EWOS, Dustin, Rossignol, S Banken og SATS ELIXIA. For more information visit altor.com.

About Gnist Barnehager
Gnist Barnehager is a chain of privately owned preschools located in Hordaland, Møre and Romsdal and Trøndelag. The chain opened their preschool in 2004 under the name Grønmyr Barnehage, the name was changed to Gnist Barnehager in 2014. The chain currently comprises 17 preschools, with 500 employees and approximately 2000 children enrolled, with plans to develop the concept in the rest of Norway.

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DIF agreed to acquire US toll road portfolio

DIF

Toronto, 8 May 2018 – DIF Infrastructure V (“DIF”) is pleased to announce it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 100% equity interest in American Roads LLC (“American Roads” or, the “Company”). The Company is being sold by an affiliate of Syncora Guarantee Inc., a wholly owned, New York financial guarantee insurance subsidiary of Syncora Holdings Ltd.

Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, American Roads operates a diversified portfolio of five toll road assets, comprising four owned toll bridges in Alabama and, pursuant to a long-term lease agreement, the U.S. side of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, a subaqueous international tolled tunnel between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario.

American Roads is led by a highly qualified management team with more than 100 years of combined management experience in infrastructure and transportation. The management team provides comprehensive management services for American Roads including operations, maintenance, engineering and administrative services.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018.

DIF Profile

DIF, an independent and specialist fund management company, manages approximately €5.1 billion across seven closed-end investment funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in the global infrastructure market through two differentiated and complementary strategies.

The majority of DIF’s funds, including DIF Infrastructure V, target PPP / PFI / P3, regulated infrastructure assets and renewable energy projects.

DIF CIF I targets small to mid-sized infrastructure assets in the telecom infrastructure, rail, energy and utility sectors that generate stable and predictable cash flows that are contracted over the mid-term with highly rated entities.

DIF has offices in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Luxembourg, Madrid, Toronto and Sydney.

For more information, please contact:

Paul Huebener, Partner
Email: p.huebener@dif.eu

Allard Ruijs, Partner
Email: a.ruijs@dif.eu

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NightBalance acquired by Royal Philips

GIlde Healthcare

Utrecht, The Netherlands – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced that it has acquired NightBalance, a portfolio company from specialist investor Gilde Healthcare. Netherlands-based NightBalance is a digital health scale-up company commercializing an innovative, easy to use device to treat positional obstructive sleep apnea and positional snoring. With the acquisition of NightBalance, Philips expands its Sleep & Respiratory Care portfolio. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

NightBalance’s Sleep Position Trainer (SPT) was designed as a patient friendly treatment alternative for people who suffer from positional obstructive sleep apnea. The SPT gently prompts them not to sleep on their back, avoiding the apneas from occurring during sleep. The SPT is CE-marked and is currently marketed in select countries in Europe. The acquisition will help Philips to further expand its leadership position in the growing home care market, and its ability to deliver integrated solutions that drive efficiencies and improved outcomes. Philips already offers a broad range of care solutions for people living with obstructive sleep apnea.

 

About Gilde Healthcare

Gilde Healthcare is a specialized European healthcare investor managing €1 billion across two business lines: a venture & growth capital fund and a lower mid-market buy-out fund. Gilde Healthcare’s venture & growth capital fund invests in digital health, medtech and therapeutics. The portfolio companies are based in Europe and North America. Gilde Healthcare’s lower mid-market buy-out fund invests in profitable European healthcare services companies with a focus on the Benelux and DACH-region. The portfolio consists of healthcare providers, suppliers of medical products and other service providers in the healthcare market.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.gildehealthcare.com

Gilde Healthcare

Gilde Healthcare is a specialized European healthcare investor managing two business lines: a lower mid-market buy-out fund and a venture & growth capital fund. It has over €800 million ($1 billion) under management and is actively looking to lead new investments in digital health, diagnostics, medical devices, therapeutics and healthcare services across Europe and the US.

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Gimv acquires the majority in the leading European photonics solutions provider Laser 2000

GIMV

The European investment company Gimv has agreed with the owners of Laser 2000 GmbH to acquire a 75% stake in the company. Founder and managing director Armin Luft will retain a minority interest.

Laser 2000 (www.laser2000.de) was founded in 1986 and has since then evolved into one of the leading independent European suppliers of innovative laser and photonics solutions. The company’s comprehensive range of products extends from lasers and light sources for the processing of materials, over measurement equipment and fibre optics to 3D imaging, optical power and energy meters as well as cameras. With more than 30 years of experience in the market, Laser 2000 is a photonics pioneer and can therefore benefit from long-standing customer and supplier relationships. It serves renowned companies and research institutes in the fields of automation and sensor technology, optical communications and network technologies, biotech and medicine, automotive and aerospace.

Headquartered in Weßling (Germany), the company, which employs a total of 65 people, has continuously grown its business in recent years by establishing subsidiaries in other European countries (France, Spain, Sweden), capitalising on the steady growth of the photonics market.

Laser 2000 is well positioned to continue this development in the future: the company will keep expanding both its national and international business activities in the years to come, continuing to act as a trusted and competent partner and adviser to its clients and suppliers. Thanks to its broad range of products and services complemented by customised systems solutions, Laser 2000 is ideally suited to meet all customer requirements in this market. On top of that, new emerging fields of applications for laser technology are expected to contribute to a continuously strong growth of the photonics market.

Armin Luft, founder and managing director of Laser 2000, explains: “Optical technologies keep spreading to new industrial applications. We are known for innovation, creativity, quality and superior customer satisfaction in the photonics market for over 30 years, and we intend to keep growing. I am delighted that in Gimv we have found a new partner, who stands for successful, long-term cooperation and sustainable value creation in the SME segment. We share the excitement for technologies of the future and we will continue to develop Laser 2000’s success story together.”

Ronald Bartel, a Munich-based Partner in Gimv’s Smart Industries platform, adds: “As a technology spanning over all major sectors, photonics will put its mark on the 21st century from both, a technological and economic perspective, be it in Industry 4.0, autonomous driving, diagnostics or broadband networks.  Acting as an independent intermediary between customers and a plethora of suppliers and products, Laser 2000 is ideally positioned to participate in and benefit from this development. The company has what it takes to expand its market leadership – and we look forward to helping it reaching these goals in the future.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. No further details will be disclosed.

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Ardian sells its stake in Piz’Wich after supporting its international expansion

Ardian

Paris, 25 April 2018 – Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, today announces the sale of its minority holding in Piz’Wich, a specialist manufacturer of on-the-go frozen snack products, to frostkrone, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of frozen convenience food and snack products.

Ardian Growth is a key partner for profitable growth companies generating sales of between 10 and 100 million euros annually. This success is reflected in the team’s recent fundraise of 230 million euros for its second generation Growth fund.

Ardian Growth purchased a stake in Piz’Wich in December 2016 in order to support the group’s organic growth and accelerate its international expansion, particularly through a global industry partnership strategy. These objectives were quickly achieved, thanks to further product range development and the establishment of strategy agreements with industrial groups. In fact, negotiations initially focused on forming an industry partnership in Germany have eventually led to the frostkrone acquisition. frostkrone, which now holds all shares in Piz’Wich, was itself an Ardian Expansion investment until February 2017, when its shares were sold to its current backer, Emeram Capital Partners.

Piz’Wich was founded in 2001 and has enjoyed continued growth in an evolving and expanding market. Under the direction of Stéphane Delahaye, Piz’Wich rapidly adapted its business model to focus on on-the-go frozen snack products, a niche, high-growth market. As part of this pivot, it created the “Pizza Pocket”, a successful and innovative product. With a strong focus on quality and traceability of ingredients, Piz’Wich has responded to the ever-increasing demand for these types of products, and the evolving range of consumer habits while at the same time complying with stringent certification and control requirements.

Stéphane Delahaye, CEO of Piz’Wich, said: “We have seen an intense and productive period since the beginning of our partnership with Ardian, through its investment in Piz’Wich. We have continued to develop our product range, and with the support of Ardian’s extensive network, have identified a number of industry partners worldwide as well as other external expansion targets. We would like to extend our thanks to the Ardian Growth team for their support. We now look forward to benefiting from the synergies with frostkrone and to pursuing further development in the future.”

Frédéric Quéru, Director at Ardian Growth, added: “Piz’Wich has experienced rapid development over the 16 months since our investment. Through our initial investment, we, alongside Stéphane Delahaye, were able to successfully enable Piz’Wich to roll out its strategy. The company generated strong interest from a number of players, but frostkrone, a recognized industry leader, made it clear early on they were willing to take Piz’Wich to the next level.”

Alexis Saada, Managing Director at Ardian Growth, added: “This operation, which is a testament to the high quality of products offered by Piz’Wich, places the company in an optimum position to continue its development. It also reflects our team’s comprehensive approach to high-growth companies and our partnership ethos with entrepreneurs looking for a new stage of development.”

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$67bn managed or advised in Europe, North America and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base.

Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world.

Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 490 employees working from thirteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), North America (New York, San Francisco) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo). It manages funds on behalf of c.700 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.

Follow Ardian on Twitter @Ardian

www.ardian.com

ABOUT PIZ’WICH

Created in 2001 and taken over by Stéphane Delahaye in 2011, Piz’Wich is a manufacturer of white-label frozen snack products targeting supermarkets and hypermarkets, airline caterers and food service providers.
The company, located in Bulgnéville near Nancy and managed by Stéphane Delahaye, established strategic partnerships with largely international players.

ABOUT FROSTKRONE

frostkrone, and its subsidiary Bornholter, specializes in the development and production of frozen finger food and snack products. Since its foundation in 1997, the company has become an innovative trendsetter in the field of frozen finger food. frostkrone boasts a highly diverse portfolio of products made with cheese, fish, vegetables and meat, selling its products in grocery stores and in the food service sector.

www.frostkrone.de

 

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Piz’Wich: Stéphane Delahaye
Ardian: Frédéric Quéru, Alexis Saada

  • Legal advisor: McDermott, Will & Emery (Diana Hund, Louis Leroy)
  • Tax advisor:Arsene Taxand (Franck Chaminade, Charles Dalarun)
  • M&A advisor: Invest Corporate Finance (Marc O’Neill, Maxime Bazin)

frostkrone: Frédéric Dervieux
Emeram Capital Partners: Matthias Obermeyr, Kaili Shen

  • Legal
    • GLNS: Ludger Schult and Andreas Scheidle
    • Aramis: Raphaël Mellerio and Aliénor Harel
  • Financial, tax and structure
    • PWC financial: Richard Siedek, Philippe Chavane and Olivier Lorang
    • PWC tax: Fabien Radisic
  • Structure
    • Flick Gocke Schaumburg: Christian Pitzal and Martin Oltmanns
  • Acquisition financing
    • Shearman & Sterling: Winfried Carli

PRESS CONTACTS

ARDIAN

Headland
CARL LEIJONHUFVUD

cleijonhufvud@headlandconsultancy.com
Tel: +44 020 3805 4827

 

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ACTIVA CAPITAL invests in BE RELAX, global operator of AIRPORT SPAS, to accelerate its development

Activa Capital

Through a dedicated capital increase with Activa Capital, Be Relax, the global operator of well-being and beauty services at airports, has raised up to €20m. The transaction will help accelerate the pace of Be Relax spa openings at both existing airport locations and at new airports.
Founded in 2004 by Nicolas and Frédéric Briest, Be Relax now operates 52 airport spas in 11 countries across Europe, the US, the Middle East and Asia. The group employs nearly 500 staff worldwide.
Be Relax has experienced strong growth in recent years, particularly in the US and the Middle East, winning numerous tenders, including the airports of Dallas, Philadelphia and, very recently, Muscat. Over the last few years, Be Relax has become the number one global operator of airport spas.

Activa Capital’s investment project, alongside Nicolas and Frédéric Briest, is to contribute to the acceleration of openings through an ambitious plan of 10 new spas per year, while supporting the founders as they implement their new marketing concept, gradually rolling it out across all points of sale.

“I am delighted with this partnership with Activa Capital. Their renowned experience in supporting external growth strategy will be key in carrying out potential build-ups for Be Relax,” Nicolas Briest, co-founder of Be Relax.
“Ultimately, we want to strengthen our global leadership, becoming number one in the US market. This development will involve the opening of many new spas, ” Frédéric Briest, co-founder of Be Relax.
For Christophe Parier and Alexandre Masson, Partners at Activa Capital: “We were impressed by the energy of the Be Relax founders and their ability to grow simultaneously across the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Airports are increasingly looking to offer relaxation and well-being services to passengers to relieve the stress of travel. This is a key moment in the development of Be Relax, which is structuring its shareholder base in order to accelerate the pace of its openings.”

Deal participants
Be Relax: Frédéric Briest, Nicolas Briest
Activa Capital: Christophe Parier, Alexandre Masson, Frédéric Singer
Buyer strategic due diligence: Roland Berger (Gaëlle de la Fosse, Olivier Hombreux, Michael Cosentino)
Buyer financial Due Diligence: 8 Advisory (Justin Welstead, Daniel Parsons, Baptiste Piasentin)
Buyer legal adviser: Hogan Lovells (Stéphane Huten, Paul Leroy, Alexandre Jeannerot)
Seller legal adviser: Stehlin & Associés (Svetlana Tokoucheva)
Seller corporate finance: Neuflize OBC Corporate Finance (Jean-Christophe Liard, Caroline Brun)

About Be Relax
Established Paris in 2004 with the opening of well-being spas at Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport, Be Relax has become in a few years a world leader in airport spas. Be Relax spas are regularly ranked among the best in the world of travel retail. Be Relax’s mission is to offer a special moment of relaxation to airport passengers. Taking advantage of its unique expertise in stress caused by air travel, Be Relax is innovating and developing a line of accessories in well-being and travel under its own brand name. These products are now distributed in more than 200 stores and boutiques around the world. Since its first spa at Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport, the company has launched successively in Europe, the US and the Middle East. It now has 52 locations and employs more than 500 employees. The iconic Roissy Charles de Gaulle site employs more than 60 people on permanent contracts in 8 spas. To learn more about Be Relax, visit berelax.com.

About Activa Capital
Activa Capital is a leading French mid-market private equity firm. Activa Capital manages over €500m of private equity funds on behalf of a wide range of institutional investors. Activa Capital partners with ambitious mid-sized French companies, valued at €20m to €200m, seeking to accelerate their growth and their international footprint. Learn more about Activa Capital at activacapital.com or on Twitter @activacapital.

Activa Capital Media Contacts Steele & Holt Media Contacts Be Relax Media Contacts
North America:
Alexandre Masson Daphné Claude Adeline Moya
Partner VP, Business Development
+33 1 43 12 50 12 +33 6 66 58 81 92 +1 978 408 3065 alexandre.masson@activacapital.com daphne@steeleandholt.com a.moya@berelax.com
Europe & Middle-East:
Christelle Piatto Claire Guermond Virginie Desquatrevaux
Communications Manager Marketing Director
+33 1 43 12 50 12 +33 6 31 92 22 82 +33 6 68 11 03 78
christelle.piatto@activacapital.com claire@steeleandholt.com v.desquatrevaux@berelax.com

 

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Torqx Capital Partners invests in Folat, a leading producer of party products

Torqx Capital

Torqx Capital Partners (“Torqx”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a partnership with the current owners of Folat Group B.V. (“Folat” or “the Company”). Folat is the largest designer, manufacturer, and distributor of decorated party goods and party accessories in the Benelux. Key customer segments are dedicated party goods stores, webshops and large retailers. Folat also operates its own B2C e-commerce platform www.feestwinkel.nl.

Marc Mulckhuyse, founder and director of Folat, comments: “Managing the complete process from product design to production and distribution enables us to keep our leading position and develop new markets, like our B2C e-commerce platform. Joining forces with Torqx provides us not only with financial support, but also with the knowledge and expertise to develop and scale our business.”

Alex Adrichem, founder and director of Folat, comments: “We are delighted to enter into a partnership with Torqx. This will allow us to continue our strong momentum and build a market leading position in Europe. We are looking forward to realise our business ambitions together with the Torqx team.”

Peter Kroeze, Managing Partner at Torqx comments: “We are impressed by the passion and dedication of the Folat team to provide their customers with the best party products and excellent delivery and service. Folat has developed a strong market position, based on their innovative product range, retail expertise and thorough understanding of their customers’ needs. We look forward to supporting Folat in further building the company internationally and driving its performance.”

About Folat
Folat was founded in 1993 by Alex Adrichem and Marc Mulckhuyse. With an innovative and fresh approach of the market, the company has realised continuous growth since the start. Folat offers a broad range of party products, incorporating a variety of themes and licenses, and develops concepts in order to have a total solution for any store, product or theme presentation. Folat organises the complete distribution chain, from design and product development to production, sales and distribution. The Company is headquartered in Haarlem (NL), has sales offices in Belgium and Germany and operates a state-of-the-art 12.000 m² warehouse in Velsen. Folat employs ca. 70 FTE. For more information, please visit www.folat.eu.

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Ardena acquires Syntagon and strengthens API offering

Mentha Capital

Contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) Ardena has acquired Syntagon, a leading contract manufacturer of novel active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and excipients.

The acquisition, which is the CDMO’s first outside the Benelux region, expands its drug substance manufacturing capacity. Moreover, bigger batch sizes up to 100 kg can now be handled by Ardena. Syntagon also adds specialist expertise in GMP chromatographic purification processes to the group.

The announcement follows Ardena’s acquisition of ChemConnection in March 2018 and is part of its strategy to form a leading integrated drug development company and reach the €35m sales mark this year.

Harry Christiaens, CEO of Ardena, comments: “At Ardena, it is our goal to become a one source contractor by offering an integrated set of services to meet all chemical, pharmaceutical and (bio)analytical needs that arise in the clinical supply chain from lab to patient. This is the driver of our M&A strategy.”

“By adding the ChemConnection and Syntagon capabilities to our group, we can now offer specialist technology expertise in drug substance manufacturing.”

Established in 1999, Syntagon has sites in Sweden and Latvia and employs 30 people. This latest acquisition brings the total number of Ardena facilities to six, including its headquarters in Ghent, Belgium and three sites in the Netherlands (Oss, Amsterdam and Assen).

Harry continued: “The Syntagon acquisition gives us a presence in Scandinavia, where we are well positioned to capitalize on the emerging biotech segment and broader pharmaceutical market. With support from our financial investor Mentha Capital, we will continue to focus on both organic growth and acquisition opportunities on our path to create an internationally recognized drug development company.”

Commenting on the acquisition, Michael Lofthagen, CEO at Syntagon added: “Our customers can now benefit from a more integrated service offering, which will ultimately streamline the progress of products through clinical development. We are looking forward to leveraging the synergies across the Ardena group to deliver the best possible offering to the market.”

Ardena was formed in 2017, following the merging of three companies with complementary capabilities: Pharmavize in Belgium, and Crystallics and Analytical Biochemical Laboratory (ABL) in the Netherlands. With the acquisitions of ChemConnection and Syntagon in 2018, Ardena now employs more than 225 scientists.

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