Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Source: Realdeals
Nordic Capital has sold Sweden-headquartered veterinary services business AniCura to Mars Petcare in what the firm has described as one of its “best ever exits”.
Financial details were undisclosed, but the sale values AniCura at close to €2bn and has delivered Nordic Capital a 7x return, according to a source familiar with the deal.
Nordic Capital exits after a four-year hold. The firm said it is one of the largest ever vet care deals globally.
The deal follows Mars’ acquisition of Sovereign Capital-backed Linnaeus, a UK vet business, last week. Sovereign made its strongest ever gross return from the exit.
Nordic Capital acquired a majority stake in AniCura in 2014. Prior backer Fidelio Capital retained a minority position.
Since then the business has grown fourfold, with pro-forma revenues increasing from SEK900m to SEK3.3bn (€87.7m to €321.5m). AniCura now operates 200 clinics across Northern Europe, employs 4,000 people and treats two million animals every year.
Nordic Capital closed its ninth fund last month at €4.3bn. In April it completed the largest ever GP-led fund restructuring.
Read more at Realdeals.