M&A Advisory

Avania

Adviser to management on the secondary buyout of Avania by Astorg Partners from Kester Capital.

The deal

Kester Capital sells majority stake

Primary buyout specialist Kester Capital has sold a majority stake in leading global MedTech contract research organisation Avania, in a deal supported by our Corporate Finance team.

Avania has secured investment from global private equity firm, Astorg, with Kester maintaining a minority stake in the business. Astorg’s Mid-Cap fund will actively support Avania’s management team as it plans to accelerate growth, organically and through M&A.

Our Corporate Finance team, led by Partner Simon Davies and Director Bilal Hasan, was appointed lead adviser to the management team at Avania as they sought new investment following a sustained period of growth backed by Kester.

Having facilitated the succession of the founders through the recruitment of a new senior leadership team led by Sapna Hornyak, Avania has grown through a combination of organic investment as well as a series of strategic acquisitions. Since the original investment by Kester in 2016, the group’s EBITDA has grown by five times to more than €10 million.

Headquartered in the Netherlands, and with eight offices across North America, Europe UK, and Asia Pacific, Avania serves over 300 medical device original equipment manufacturers of different sizes through an integrated service offering including clinical trial management, biostatistics, regulatory consulting, data analytics, medical writing and reimbursement.

Adam Maidment, Managing Partner of Kester Capital, said: “It has been a pleasure to work alongside Sapna and her team over the last six years building Avania into the leading MedTech CRO platform. We are delighted to have the opportunity to invest alongside Astorg and continue our involvement in this exceptional business.”

FRP Corporate Finance Director, Bilal Hasan, added: “This deal highlights the continued appetite in the market for high value, specialist assets that are well placed to continue delivering sustained growth. Astorg will provide Avania with access to an impressive global network in the MedTech space which will strengthen its pipeline while the capital investment will help accelerate growth, both organically and via acquisitions.”

Deal summary

Date:

June 2022

Sector:

Healthcare

Deal type:

Management advisory

Deal size:

Undisclosed

This deal highlights the continued appetite in the market for high value, specialist assets that are well placed to continue delivering sustained growth. Bilal Hasan Corporate Finance