Transaction
Pava Partners advised Ardian and its portfolio company GBA Group on the acquisition of ICCR-Rossdorf GmbH (Institute for Competence Contract Research – Rossdorf, in short ICCR-Rossdorf). With this acquisition, GBA Group is expanding its range of toxicology services for national and international customers in the chemical, medical device, and pharmaceutical industries.
ICCR-Rossdorf has been on the market for 30 years and is one of the world’s leading Gentox providers. Its focus is on investigating the genotoxic potential of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, cosmetics, and chemicals. It employs around 100 people and is based in Rossdorf near Darmstadt, Germany.
With this acquisition, GBA Group underlines its ambition to position itself broadly as an international life science service provider through targeted portfolio expansions and investments in leading CROs: It strengthens its growth in the preclinical area and, through the now closer collaboration, reinforces the joint development of innovative assays in new application areas.
“ICCR-Rossdorf is a perfect complement to GBA’s activities in the life sciences sector. The acquisition enables GBA to provide its global client base with a strong (genetic) toxicology analysis offering along the preclinical phase, extends the service portfolio towards GBA’s medical device clients and fosters GBA’s agri-science business. The excellent and efficient cooperation with Pava Partners enabled us to complete this transaction quickly and in close cooperation with the seller”, says Dr. Alexander Friedrich, Managing Director of Ardian Buyout.
Client
About Aridan
Ardian is a world-leading private investment house, managing or advising $150bn of assets on behalf of more than 1,470 clients globally. Our broad expertise, spanning Private Equity, Real Assets and Credit, enables us to offer a wide range of investment opportunities and respond flexibly to our clients’ differing needs. Through Ardian Customized Solutions we create bespoke portfolios that allow institutional clients to specify the precise mix of assets they require and to gain access to funds managed by leading third-party sponsors. Private Wealth Solutions offers dedicated services and access solutions for private banks, family offices and private institutional investors worldwide. Ardian’s main shareholding group is its employees and we place great emphasis on developing its people and fostering a collaborative culture based on collective intelligence. Our 1,050+ employees, spread across 16 offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Middle East are strongly committed to the principles of Responsible Investment and are determined to make finance a force for good in society. Our goal is to deliver excellent investment performance combined with high ethical standards and social responsibility.
At Ardian we invest all of ourselves in building companies that last.
About GBA Group
GBA Group is an international life science service company with more than 2,000 employees and a broad range of analytical, logistical and specialist services in the fields of pharmaceuticals, medical products, cosmetics, chemicals, food, drinking water and the environmental sustainability.
The range of services offered by the GBA Group includes laboratory analytics, data management, special logistical services for clinical trials, as well as consulting services for private companies and public institutions in connection with their activities in the fields of research, product development, market development, and consumer protection.
Through its work, the GBA Group makes a sustainable contribution to public health, the environment and society as a whole. The GBA Group operates sites in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, and the United States.
Target
About ICCR-Roßdorf
The Institute for Competent Contract Research in Rossdorf offers experimental toxicological expertise since more than 3 decades. Our key area is investigations of the genotoxicity potency of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, cosmetics and chemicals. However, several additional disciplines of toxicology, mainly in vitro methods, are also in our portfolio (e.g. skin/eye irritation and corrosion, cytotoxicity, sensitisation testing). For customers from the medical device industry we offer modified protocols using extracts in accordance to ISO 10993-1 (certified according to EN 17025 since 2011). Almost all toxicological studies are performed under GLP in accordance to OECD Guidelines. In addition, batch release testing of pharmaceuticals under GMP has been performed for more than 10 years.
