Advent backed healthcare firm Mediq put up for sale in potential $1.4 billion deal

Private equity giant, Advent International, has put their Dutch medical supplier, Mediq, for sale in a potential 1.2 billion euro ($1.4 billion) deal, sources close to the matter said.

Advent, which is working with Rothschild and on the sale, has organised management meetings for prospective buyers, which have been asked to hand in non-binding bids in the first week of November, they said.

Buyout groups such as CVC, Bain, BC Partners, Triton and Pamplona are expected to bid, they added.

Mediq, Advent, the banks and the prospective buyers declined to comment or were not immediately available for comment.

The firm is being marketed off full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of about 90 million euros, though some potential bidders are working with assumptions of core earnings closer to 70 million euros, the sources said.

Mediq, which supplies pharmaceuticals and medical gear to clinics and patients, is expected to be valued at 12-13 times its expected core earnings, they said, adding that expectations may change as the deal is still in early stages.

Advent took Mediq private in 2013 for 819 million euros and has since strengthened the company through a string of acquisitions, such as that of Britain’s H&R Healthcare and Norway’s Puls AS.

The group’s Dutch pharmacy chain was sold in 2016, focusing Mediq on the delivery of medical devices and care solutions to patients, hospitals and other care institutions.

The company was founded in 1899 as Onderlinge Pharmaceutische Groothandel (Mutual Pharmaceutical Wholesale Company), a buying cooperative established by pharmacists and listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange in 1992.

Source: Reuters