PE Deals

Astorg to acquire Avania from Kester Capital

Kester plans on retaining a minority stake in Avania.

-
  • Avania is a medical tech-focused CRO
  • Avania is the third investment made by Astorg’s mid-cap fund
  • The deal will be used by Avania for expansion and M&A opportunities.
European private equity firm Astorg has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Avania, a contract research organization focused on medical technology. No financial terms were disclosed.
Avania is headquartered in the Netherlands, with eight offices across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Avania serves 300 medical device OEMs of different sizes, according to the press release announcing the transaction.
On the deal, Edouard Pillot, managing partner of Astorg Mid-Cap, said in a public statement: “We believe that the fragmented MedTech CRO market presents a compelling opportunity to create a differentiated, scaled, global player dedicated to medical technology. Having monitored Avania’s development for a long time, we believe that it is the ideal platform to carry out this thesis.”
Astorg was advised by Rothschild (lead M&A), BDO (M&A), Dentons (Legal), KPMG (Financial and Tax diligence), and Roland Berger (Commercial). Kester was advised by Results International (sell-side advisory), BDO (Financial and Tax diligence), Osborne Clarke, NautaDutilh, Smith Anderson and Addisons (Legal). Management were advised by FRP.