Private Equity: Schweizer Finanzinvestor Ufenau gelingt wichtiger Deal

Swiss private equity firm Ufenau Capital has successfully completed a significant deal by selling its stake in the equine medicine group Altano. The British investment company Bridgepoint is set to take control, becoming the majority shareholder of the leading global group of horse clinics and practices. According to financial sources, Altano is valued at around 600 million euros in the transaction.

Ufenau acquired the company in 2017 with its headquarters in Ulmenau, North Rhine-Westphalia, and built it into a market leader in equine medicine through numerous acquisitions of smaller clinics and hospitals. For Ufenau, this transaction is a key success for two reasons: it demonstrates the resurgence of mergers and acquisitions in small and medium-sized enterprises after years of stagnation, and it represents the largest exit from a so-called continuation fund for Ufenau.

In 2023, Altano was sold to a continuation fund along with the dermatology group Corius. Continuation funds are new vehicles used by private equity managers to return or partially repay old investors while retaining control over a company. The market for continuation funds has grown exponentially in recent years as private equity houses aim to hold onto top stakes for longer periods.

However, exits from continuation funds were rare, leading to uncertainty in the industry about whether further value addition could be achieved. Ufenau's Dieter Scheiff noted that "Altano, thanks to our continuation fund that enabled further growth, has grown from modest beginnings to today's worldwide leading and largest platform for equine medicine."

With a yearly revenue of 350 million euros and an EBITDA of 50 to 60 million euros, Altano operates 110 clinics and practices and employs nearly 1,000 veterinarians across 14 countries worldwide. Ufenau started with a single clinic and built the group from there, Carsten Kratz, Partner and Head of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland at Bridgepoint, emphasized.

Kratz explained that this investment success marks a normal development step for a middle-market investor like Bridgepoint acquiring a company from a small-business-focused investor like Ufenau Capital Partners. Bridgepoint aims to internationalize Altano further and expand its business in growth markets, focusing on regions with large and economically significant equine populations, such as Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and the eastern coast of Australia.

Altano's target audience consists of high-profile breeders and top athletes, where Kratz sees significant economic potential. Bridgepoint currently holds a two percent market share in the United States and Australia, aiming to increase this share to five, six, or seven percent, representing significant growth. The market for specialized equine medicine is also fragmented, particularly in the United States, where Kratz believes Bridgepoint will develop Altano by acquiring numerous smaller clinics and practices for integration into the existing network or attachment to existing clinic locations.

With expertise in eye medicine, dentistry, surgery, orthopedics, imaging diagnostics, and reproductive medicine, Bridgepoint aims to enhance treatment quality further, according to Kratz, who previously worked at the management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group.