New acquisition for Ardian in the pharmaceutical field. The French private equity group has acquired from White Bridge Investments the majority of Biofarma Group, a Friulian company specialized in the development, production and packaging of food supplements, medical devices, and cosmetics. The deal is valued at 0,78 billion on a group valuation of 1,1 billion euros (1,26 billion dollars). The founding family, Germano Scarpa e Gabriella Tavasani, will retain its current 30% stake in the group and reinvest alongside Ardian. While Maurizio Castorina he will continue to lead the company as chief executive officer. Advisor to Ardian in the transaction Houlihan Lokey.
According to reports, Ardian entered exclusive talks to buy the Friuli-based company from White Bridge Investments earlier this year, after beating a rival offer from buyout fund BC Partners. White Bridge, led by former BC Partners investor Marco Pinciroli, took control (70%) of Biofarma in 2019 by merging it with its portfolio company Nutrilinea.
This is the second investment in the sector in less than a year: the one in Swedish Recipharmlast June when the Paris-based investment firm joined the EQT fund in the capital. EQT delisted Recipharm from the Stockholm stock exchange last February following a takeover bid.
Quite a coup for Parisian private equity given that the global market for nutraceuticals it was valued at $454 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand further over the next 9 years. As a result of the pandemic, as people have turned great attention to dietary supplements to strengthen their immune system.
Biofarma is based in Mereto di Tomba (Udine) and has 800 collaborators and 170 production lines in four production plants distributed between Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lombardy and Veneto. The company has reached over 200 million in turnover, with almost 50% developed on international markets, thanks to partnerships with various international customers.
