Eurazeo PME has announced the signing of an exclusivity agreement to invest €78 million in the In’Tech Medical group, alongside management.

This investment in equity and convertible bonds will provide Eurazeo PME with approximately 80% of share capital. Eurazeo PME And In’Tech wil l jointly seek to fast-track the company’s growth trajectory by boosting its global leadership, particularly through external growth transactions. Eurazeo PME will then succeed to TCR Capital, majority shareholder since September 2012. The deal is expected to close in July 2017. This acquisition is the Eurazeo PME III fund’s second investment.

Founded in 1999, In’Tech Medical manufactures orthopedic surgical tools to be used in the highly demanding spinal surgery sector. In’Tech Medical group is a world leader in the following markets: knees, shoulders and hips. Currently with 500 employees, the In’Tech Medical group owns two French production sites (Rangs-du-Fliers in the north of France and Toulon in the south of France), one in the USA (Athens in Alabama) and in Malaysia (Penang). With two-thirds of its sales generated in the US market, In’Tech Medical is a key international player. In 2016, its revenues reached 55M€ with an average annual growth rate of 15% over the past 15 years. The In’Tech Medical group also acquired the American company, Turner Medical in 2015, and the Malaysian company, Ortho Solutions in 2016.

Working with the management team headed by Chairman and CEO Laurent Pruvost, Eurazeo PME will help In’Tech Medical consolidate its global leadership in the orthopedic surgical instruments manufacturing sector, through both organic growth and acquisitions. The Group’s operational excellence strategy will benefit from access to Eurazeo PME’s international business network and offices, particularly in the U.S., as well as its corporate expertise (digital technology, CSR, etc.).

“We were delighted by the management team and by the growth prospects of a Group with solid fundamentals,” stated Emmanuel Laillier, Managing Director of Eurazeo PME. “ Eurazeo PME wishes to support the rapid international development of In’Tech Medical, a real “pocket multinational,” particularly  through external growth acquisitions.”

“We welcome the guidance of Eurazeo PME, a long-term shareholder, in stepping up our development,” said Laurent Pruvost, Chairman and CEO of In’Tech Medical. “With a professional investor like Eurazeo PME at our side, we can consider new external growth opportunities on a global scale with confidence.”

About Eurazeo PME

Eurazeo PME is an investment firm and subsidiary of Eurazeo dedicated to majority investments in French SMEs with a value of less than €200 Million.. Eurazeo PME acts as a long-term shareholder, providing its portfolio companies with all the financial, organizational, and human resources they need for a sustained transformation. With an investment horizon generally ranging from 4 to 6 years, the group guides its portfolio companies in creating sustained and, hence, responsible growth. This commitment is formalized and deployed through a CSR (Corporate and Social Responsibility) policy. In 2016, Eurazeo PME generated €965 million in consolidated revenues and accompanied the development of 12 companies: Dessange International, Léon de Bruxelles, Péters Surgical, Colisée, Vignal Lighting Group, Groupe Flash, MK Direct, Orolia, AssurCopro, Smile and The Flexitallic Group and Fondis Bioritech as a minority shareholder. These companies are solidly positioned on their markets and led by experienced management teams.

Investment AB Latour has, through its business area Latour Industries, signed an agreement to acquire VIMEC S.R.L., a leading Italian manufacturer of platform lifts and stair lifts. Sellers are IGI Private Equity and Finint who together bought 100 per cent of the company in 2015. The acquisition of VIMEC is a natural next step for Latour Industries after the acquisition of Aritco during the second quarter 2016.

VIMEC’s headquarters and manufacturing are based in Luzzara, Italy. The products are sold through partners and distributors primarily in southern Europe. The group has 166 employees and the net sales in 2016 were EUR 44 m, with good operating margin.

“I am very pleased to welcome Latour as our new owners. They are a long-term industrial owner that can support VIMEC’s growth plan in both new products and new geographies. In addition, it is very beneficial for the company to be in the same group as Aritco. We see great joint opportunities on the global market for platform lifts and stair lifts”, says Guiseppe Lupo, CEO of VIMEC S.R.L.

“VIMEC is a high-performing company with a strong product portfolio of solutions that improve accessibility both in private homes and in public environments. VIMEC strongly complement our existing holding Aritco by adding significantly strengthened presence in key markets in Europe. In addition, VIMEC adds both new technologies and products to the product portfolio. We see a long-term growing need for product solutions for better accessibility. Our long-term goal is to build a new business unit within the Accessibility segment. This objective will most likely require more acquisitions in this area”, says Bjorn Lenander, CEO of Latour Industries.

“We are extremely pleased with this transaction which sees the transfer of a leading Italian company to an international industrial owner which will continue the path of development and growth, alongside the management of Vimec led by Giuseppe Lupo, whom we thank for the excellent work done together,” says Angelo Mastrandrea, Partner of IGI and the manager in charge of the operation. Matteo Cirla, Managing Director of IGI, further adds, “The sale of Vimec shows the robustness of IGI’s investment strategy which focuses on industrial firms representing excellence in Italian manufacturing.”

Impact on the Latour Group
The acquisition will from the very beginning have a positive impact on the Latour Group’s earnings per share. The acquisition will increase the net debt in the Latour Group with about EUR 45 m.

Göteborg, May 18, 2017

Investment AB Latour (publ)
Jan Svensson, CEO

For further information please contact:
Björn Lenander, CEO Latour Industries AB, +46 70 819 47 36
Mikael Johnsson, Director of Business Development, Investment AB Latour, +46 733 233 606

Investment AB Latour is a mixed investment company consisting primarily of wholly-owned industrial operations and an investment portfolio of listed holdings in which Latour is the principal owner or one of the principal owners. The investment portfolio consists of nine substantial holdings with a market value of about SEK 47 billion. The wholly-owned industrial operations generated a turnover of approximately SEK 8 billion in 2016.

Gimv enters into a partnership with MVZ Holding, a leading group of medical practices

Gimv has entered into a partnership with the existing shareholders of MVZ Holding AG, a leading group of Swiss medical practices, by acquiring a substantial stake in the group and committing additional capital for further growth.

MVZ Holding focusses on providing best in class primary medical care and has grown successfully by executing a disciplined expansion strategy. The company currently runs more than 25 medical practices in different regions in Switzerland and plans further expansion within the country.

Gimv is excited about the opportunity to partner with the company’s exceptionally strong and experienced incumbent management team. Founder and management will remain in their respective roles and will continue to be major shareholders of the company. Gimv will complement the existing team by providing strategic and financial support for the further roll out of their growth strategy.

Gimv invests in emerging immuno-oncology company ImCheck Therapeutics

Gimv today announces a EUR 5 million investment in French ImCheck Therapeutics, an emerging player in the field of cancer and auto-immune immunotherapies that focuses on the development of first-in-class antibodies that activate the immune system against different cancer types. This investment is part of a total Series A financing of EUR 20 million from a consortium of specialized life sciences investors including Kurma, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF), Idinvest and Life Science Partners (LSP).

ImCheck Therapeutics was founded in 2015 as a spin-off from the Paoli-Calmettes Cancer Institute in Marseille (France). The company is developing innovative antibody therapeutics in the field of immuno-oncology, based on scientific assets originating from the pioneering work of Prof. Daniel Olive. The funds will be used to advance its lead candidates towards clinical development, as well as to progress its discovery programs.

Karl Nägler, Partner in Gimv’s Health and Care platform, on this transaction: «We are excited to partner with ImCheck and with such a strong syndicate of first class biotech investors, given the game-changing potential of ImCheck’s development candidates for the treatment of cancer. After earlier investments in Topas Therapeutics, G-Therapeutics, Endostim, Spineart and Breath Therapeutics, ImCheck Therapeutics in the sixth new investment of Gimv’s Health & Care team over the past 12 months.»

Gimv invests in immuno-oncology company ImCheck Therapeutics

Gimv today announces a EUR 5 million investment in French ImCheck Therapeutics, an emerging player in the field of cancer and auto-immune immunotherapies that focuses on the development of first-in-class antibodies that activate the immune system against different cancer types. This investment is part of a total Series A financing of EUR 20 million from a consortium of specialized life sciences investors including Kurma, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF), Idinvest and Life Science Partners (LSP).

ImCheck Therapeutics was founded in 2015 as a spin-off from the Paoli-Calmettes Cancer Institute in Marseille (France). The company is developing innovative antibody therapeutics in the field of immuno-oncology, based on scientific assets originating from the pioneering work of Prof. Daniel Olive. The funds will be used to advance its lead candidates towards clinical development, as well as to progress its discovery programs.

Karl Nägler, Partner in Gimv’s Health and Care platform, on this transaction: «We are excited to partner with ImCheck and with such a strong syndicate of first class biotech investors, given the game-changing potential of ImCheck’s development candidates for the treatment of cancer. After earlier investments in Topas Therapeutics, G-Therapeutics, Endostim, Spineart and Breath Therapeutics, ImCheck Therapeutics in the sixth new investment of Gimv’s Health & Care team over the past 12 months.»

Capio has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares in Globen Ögonklinik (PanSyn Sweden AB, including subsidiaries) (“Globen”). The clinic is specialized in ophthalmology and offers complex eye treatments, including cataract surgery, RLE (Refractive Lens Exchange) and refractive laser treatments. Net sales in 2016 were MSEK 75.

Globen provides ophthalmology treatments at two locations in the southern part of Stockholm and performs annually about 36,000 consultations and 4,600 surgeries. The clinic serves both public and private pay patients, with its main focus being on supporting the public healthcare system (about 80% of net sales are publicly financed). The acquisition follows the acquisition of Scanloc (Sweden) in August 2016 and Capio’s recent acquisition of Augenklinik Universitätsallee (Germany), and further strengthens Capio’s healthcare offering within ophthalmology and expands the Group’s footprint in the Nordics.

Globen will be included in Capio Medocular, which is part of the business area Capio Specialist Clinics. Capio Medocular was founded in 1986 and is today one of the largest private companies within ophthalmology treatments in the Nordics, specialized in general eye care, cataract surgery and treatment of sight disorders.

Enterprise value is MSEK 75 and the acquisition, which is subject to approval by the county council (SLL), is expected to be closed and included in Capio from May 31, 2017. The acquisition is not expected to significantly impact the Group’s earnings in 2017.

For information, please contact:

Olof Bengtsson, CFO
Telephone: +46 761 18 74 69

Kristina Ekeblad, IR manager
Telephone: +46 708 31 19 40