GED acquires majority stakes in four health services providers

GED Capital, private equity group specialized in the Iberian middle-market segment, has acquired through its fund GED VI España a majority stake in Dynamic Science S.L. (“Dynamic”), Pulso Ediciones, S.L. (“Pulso”), Mederic Ediciones, S.L. (“Mederic”) and Viguera Ediciones, S.L. (“Viguera”).

The agreement reached allows the founders and management teams to maintain minority stakes and continue leading the operations of the companies, in order to create a unique and leading provider of knowledge and value added services for the pharmaceutical industry (the “Project”). The 4 companies that GED has integrated into a new sectorial consolidation platform are:

- Dynamic is the leading Spanish clinical research company. With more than 20 years of experience, it is the flagship full-service CRO for pharmaceutical companies and for the main scientific societies.

- Pulso is one of the main "B2B" companies focused on providing continuing medical education and one of the main providers of patient support programs.

- Mederic is a “B2B” company providing continuing medical education, with activity in human and veterinary medicine and with an innovative and technological value proposal.

- Viguera is specialised in on-line neurology masters for doctors "B2C".

With offices in Barcelona, the Project will have an initial workforce of 120 employees and an aggregate turnover at the end of 2020 of nearly to €15m. Their different activities are highly complementary and therefore all staff will be maintained and key areas will be reinforced to support future growth.

The growth of the Project will be supported by the consolidation of value added providers in the health sector, focusing on three main activities: (i) clinical studies, (ii) continuing medical education; and (iii) patient support programs.

Until now, there didn’t exist any integrated services providers covering the needs of the whole drug life cycle. By integrating health providers dedicated to complementary activities, from drug trial and origin to the application and monitoring of the patient, the Project will allow to work from clinical evidence based on research and turn it into practical experience for the daily treatment of diseases, bridging the gap between clinical diagnosis and practical experience and transferring in this way scientific knowledge to daily work.

This is a sector with high organic growth projected into the future, highly fragmented and digitized, especially after the effects of COVID-19 and the need to continue training doctors remotely and keep providing services to patients who can’t access hospitals.

This is the third investment made from the GED VI España fund, which was launched in April 2019, after the acquisition of a majority stake in AIRE, a company specialized in maintenance and engineering of aircraft interiors, and the purchase of 100% of Grupo OM, which is active in the visual merchandising sector for retailers.

GED VI España continues with the same strategy as its predecessor fund, making investments from €15m to €20m in companies with €3m to €7m of EBITDA. The fund plans to make between 8 and 10 investments in medium-sized industrial and B2B service companies with high growth potential.

Enrique Centelles Satrústegui, managing partner of GED, said: “We are thrilled to participate as a majority shareholder in the new group resulting from the merger of Dynamic, Pulso, Mederic and Viguera, four well-known companies in the health services sector with complementary activities and operating in a highly fragmented market. Our objective is to create a national leader with a European presence and, to this end, we have already identified a portfolio of potential acquisitions in Spain and abroad.”

Pedro Hernandez, Business Director of Dynamic, noted: “Dynamic's alliance with Pulso, Mederic and Viguera will allow the vertical integration of the health knowledge transmission chain, generating a positive impact on society at a time when the efficiency of the pharmaceutical industry has become crucial due to the effects of the “pandemic.”

Albert Gallart, CEO of Pulso, pointed out: “GED’s investment and the support of the other shareholders of the new group will allow this project to reach high levels of growth, both nationally and internationally, within a sector with very high potential and great added value for the health industry.”

Advisors of the transaction:

Buyers: KPMG (Financial/Tax/Legal/Labour DD), Roland Berger (Commercial DD) y DLA Piper (Legal).

About GED (www.gedcapital.com)

GED is an independent fund management company founded in 1996 that operates in the middle-market segment. It currently manages more than 900 million euros through different vehicles of Private Equity, Infrastructure and Venture Capital. GED has a universe of more than 50 national and foreign investors, among which are mainly pension funds, funds of funds, insurance companies, family offices and financial institutions.