Charterhouse Capital Partners invests in SERB to accelerate its development

June 09, 2017

Jeremie Urbain, Chairman and controlling shareholder of SERB S.A. (“SERB”), and Charterhouse Capital Partners (“Charterhouse”) are delighted to announce the signing of agreements for Charterhouse’s acquisition of a majority stake in SERB.

Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, SERB is an independent leading European niche specialty pharma company focused on niche branded prescription medicines, with operating offices in Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, and Luxembourg. SERB has a strong focus on therapeutic areas such as critical and emergency care, neurology, diagnostics and endocrinology. The company has experienced an exceptional growth and stability in the portfolio, with revenues increasing from €3m to €65m between 2001 and 2016 and a significant geographical expansion including an attractive development in the US. This outstanding development follows a strategy focusing on targeted acquisitions of niche products with high potential growth and the organic growth of SERB portfolio.

Jeremie Urbain will remain at the helm of the company and will re-invest significantly, together with the incumbent management team. Charterhouse will continue to support management’s product acquisition strategy as well as the expansion of the platform into new geographies and therapeutic areas.

Charterhouse capitalised on its significant prior experience of the European pharma sector, following the acquisitions of Cooper and Vemedia in the OTC space in 2015 and 2016 and DOC Generici in the generics market in 2013. SERB marks the fourth investment in Charterhouse Capital Partners X.

Jeremie Urbain decided to open SERB’s capital in order to accelerate its development, commenting: “SERB has entered a new phase of its development in the context of a dynamic market favorable to acquisitions. I am delighted to welcome Charterhouse, a respected financial partner with an excellent track-record and ability to dedicate significant financial and human resources to achieve SERB’s ambitious goals.”

Pierre de Sarrau, a Partner at Charterhouse, said: “We are delighted to partner with excellent managers like Jeremie Urbain and his team. We will build on SERB’s success and particularly on their strength in emergency care and diagnostics, by supporting the acceleration of the internationalization of the company and continuing to acquire additional products and complementary businesses.”