H.I.G. Capital Portfolio Company, Santa Lucia Pharma Apps, Acquires French Company Eco-dex
MILAN – October 22, 2018 – H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global private equity investment firm with more than €24 billion of equity capital under management, announced today that its portfolio company Santa Lucia Pharma Apps S.r.l. (“SLPA”) has completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in Eco-dex SaS (“Eco-dex”), a leader in the production and commercialization of devices for the automated distribution of solid-oral drugs in the French market.
Established in 2010 and headquartered in Le Mans (France), Eco-dex specializes in providing complete solutions for the automated management of drug logistics, in single-dose format, in healthcare and hospital facilities. Eco-dex, provides highly innovative machinery, based on proprietary technologies, and long-term assistance services that ensure maximum traceability of medicines, total security of doses and greater efficiency of consumption with a consequent significant reduction in medical spending. Eco-dex has a leading position in the French market, with an estimated market share of over 60% and installations in over 20 of the largest hospitals in France.
H.I.G. acquired SLPA in July 2017 with the goal to provide the company and its management with the financial resources, as well as the experience and network, to support the internationalization process of the company, already a leader in the Italian market.
Giorgio Pavesi, President of SLPA, commented: “The acquisition of Eco-dex represents a relevant step towards the extension of the product portfolio, thanks to the highly complementary technologies developed by the two companies, and the improvement in service offered to our customers for whom we can formulate increasingly customized solutions.”
Loïc Bessin, President of Eco-dex, said: “Joining the SLPA group is an important milestone for us, allowing us to move beyond national borders and to offer a broader portfolio of solutions to our clients worldwide.”
Raffaele Legnani, Managing Director of H.I.G. Europe, added: “H.I.G. is pleased to team-up with SLPA and its management team to support the group’s international growth. Thanks to this acquisition and the strong organic growth achieved in recent years, the company enjoys a prominent position in the European market.”
SLPA was assisted by Next! Financial Advisor and by the law firm UGGC Avocats.
About SLPA
SLPA is one of the leading Italian providers of advanced services to hospitals, offering integrated turn-key solutions to hospitals for the traceability and management of unit dose drugs and medical devices. SLPA solutions, which include proprietary software, patented robotic technologies and specialist support services, enable drugs and medical devices management from digital prescription to automated personalized unit dose treatment, up to software controlled administration to patients. Based in Piacenza (60km from Milan, Italy), SLPA currently manages and delivers medicines to over 10,000 beds in 25 Italian hospitals, including some major university hospitals and highly respected and innovative centers.
About Eco-dex
Established in 2010 and headquartered in Le Mans (France), Eco-dex specializes in providing complete solutions for the automated management of drug logistics, in single-dose format, in healthcare and hospital facilities. Eco-dex has a leading position in the French market, with an estimated market share of over 60% and installations in over 20 of the largest hospitals in France.
About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. Capital is a leading global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with over €24 billion of equity capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/ value-added approach:
- H.I.G.’s. equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalisations and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.
- H.I.G.’s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. is also a leading CLO manager, through its WhiteHorse family of vehicles, and manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.
- H.I.G.’s real assets funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.
Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 300 companies worldwide. The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of €28 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.hig.com.
* Based on total capital commitments managed by H.I.G. Capital and affiliates.