Charterhouse partners with Labomar’s founder to deliver next phase of growth
September 07, 2023
Labomar S.p.A. (“Labomar” or the “Company”), a leading manufacturer of food supplements, medical devices and functional cosmetics, and Charterhouse Capital Partners LLP (the “Fund” or “Charterhouse”), one of the longest-established private equity firms operating in Europe, announce the Fund investment in Labomar. Charterhouse sourced the transaction through a bilateral off-market deal, partnering with Labomar’s founder and CEO, Walter Bertin, and existing minority shareholder, Cleon Capital, to support the next phase of the Company’s development.
The announcement follows the official delisting of Labomar S.p.A.'s shares today.
Headquartered in Italy, the Company is a full-service B2B innovation-driven CDMO (with 17 registered patents). The Company, being B-Corp certified, has a demonstrated focus on stakeholders’ wellbeing and sustainability.
The Company was founded in 1998 from the pharmacy of Mr. Bertin, and has quickly developed and grown to six facilities, over 200 customers and 300 employees. Labomar in 2022 reported consolidated revenues of Euro 92 million and EBITDA of Euro 17 million. The Company has been growing consistently at a double-digit pace since inception.
The partnership between Charterhouse and Labomar will enable the Company to pursue its ambitious growth strategy with greater speed and flexibility, taking advantage of new innovations and expansion opportunities.
Charterhouse will leverage its extensive M&A expertise to help Labomar consolidate its fragmented markets through a buy-and-build strategy and will support the continued organic growth of the business, via an expansion of its offering and by growing the market share of Labomar’s existing portfolio. Through the partnership, Charterhouse will employ its significant prior experience in the healthcare sector, via previous investments in Doc Generici, Cooper Consumer Health and SERB Pharmaceuticals.
Walter Bertin, Labomar founder and CEO, commented:
“Our partnership with Charterhouse marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in Labomar’s journey. Charterhouse has extensive experience in our reference markets and a strong track record of driving organic growth and supporting companies executing targeted M&A. We look forward to working with the Charterhouse team to capitalise on the significant growth opportunities available to us. We are grateful to Borsa Italiana and all those who have supported Labomar in recent years, as well as to all the professionals who have accompanied us in this significant step for our future."
Antonio Di Lorenzo, Director at Charterhouse, said:
"We are delighted to be partnering with Walter and Labomar’s talented management team to support the next phase of the Company’s growth. Our proven ability to execute successful partnership deals with founding families as well as our ability to generate operational value were key in securing this partnership. Labomar has been on a highly successful journey to date, creating a strong and diversified portfolio of products and building a leadership position in its markets. We are excited to employ our deep experience in the healthcare sector and our value creation expertise to help Labomar achieve its full growth potential.”
LBM Next, the vehicle promoting the tender offer, was assisted by BModel as Corporate Advisor, with a team led by Claudio De Nadai; by Intesa Sanpaolo, IMI-CIB Division, as financial advisor, with Antonio Angelillo and Andrea Piretti; and by Pavia e Ansaldo Studio Legale as legal advisor, with a team led by Mia Rinetti.
Charterhouse was assisted by its Senior Advisor Leone Pattofatto, Mediobanca as Financial Advisor, with a team led by Luca Mangiagalli, and by Gianni & Origoni as legal advisor, with a team led by Stefano Bucci and by New Deal Advisors, BCG and Alix Partners for the due diligence process.
