Antylia scientific auction, One of the largest suppliers of laboratory equipment globally is now up for sale by its private equity owners, as the cash generated from exits of sponsor-backed healthcare companies approaches its highest levels since before the pandemic.
Private equity firms GTCR and Golden Gate Capital have engaged advisers from Goldman Sachs and Jefferies to facilitate an auction for Antylia Scientific. According to three sources familiar with the matter of antylia scientific auction, the sale could bring in over $2 billion.
This year has seen an increase in cash generated from private equity exits in the healthcare sector as firms look to return funds to investors, although the overall number of deals remains low.
Data from PitchBook shows that financial sponsors have raised nearly $115 billion from complete or partial exits of healthcare companies across 192 transactions since January. If this trend continues, 2024 is set to surpass the $145 billion generated in 2021, making it the most profitable year for capital returns from sponsor-backed healthcare exits in five years. However, the count of private equity exits is expected to be the lowest in at least a decade.
The substantial returns from healthcare companies represent a bright spot in an otherwise challenging market for private equity, which has struggled to return capital to its investors. Buyout firms manage over 28,000 portfolio companies valued collectively at around $3.2 trillion, and many have been reluctant to sell those that have not produced the anticipated profits, according to Bain & Co.
The investment in Antylia has already yielded significant returns for the two firms. In 2021, Antylia sold its Masterflex division, which specializes in pumps for fluid transfer used in the production of monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, and cell and gene therapies, to biotech firm Avantor for $2.9 billion.
GTCR first purchased Antylia, which was previously known as Cole-Parmer, from diagnostics company Thermo Fisher Scientific in 2014. It later sold Cole-Parmer to Golden Gate Capital in 2017, only to buy back a majority stake in 2019 for over $2 billion. Golden Gate Capital retains a minority share alongside Antylia’s management team.
Earlier this year, Antylia refinanced nearly $1.75 billion in debt and now operates five brands, with Cole-Parmer Essentials being the largest, offering more than 200,000 different types of laboratory equipment. The company also sells equipment for infectious disease diagnostics and wastewater analysis.
Antylia is likely to attract interest from diagnostic companies as well as other private equity firms, sources have indicated.
GTCR, Golden Gate Capital, Goldman Sachs, and Jefferies did not provide comments.
Founded in 1980 by Stanley Golder and Carl Thoma, GTCR is a Chicago-based firm recognized as an early leader in the buyout industry. The firm primarily focuses on mid-sized buyouts in the technology, healthcare, and financial sectors, where its strong returns continue to attract investors. Last year, GTCR raised $11.5 billion for its flagship private equity fund, surpassing its $9.3 billion target and exceeding its previous fund by more than 40 percent.
The firm, which manages $40 billion, executed one of the largest buyouts of 2023 last year by acquiring a majority stake in Worldpay from FIS.
More at https://www.antylia.com/antylia-scientific-sells-masterflex-to-avantor/
