DLA advises GED on the acquisition of three health service providers

DLA Piper Spain has advised GED Capital on the acquisition of three companies in the healthcare sector in Italy and Spain

GED Capital, a Private Equity group focused on the Iberian lower mid-market segment, has acquired 100 per cent of the shares in health service providers High Research, Interactive Communication Projects, (3.Ways), and BCN Science from their respective founders and management teams. The investment has been made from the GED VI España fund and through its portfolio company Evidenze Group Europe (Evidenze).

In addition, Evidenze continues its international expansion. In February 2021, Evidenze already acquired the Portuguese company Keypoint, a leading local CRO, which not only expanded the range of CRO services on an Iberian level but also provided an entry platform in the country for the sale of medical training and patient support services.

The integration of these companies allows Evidenze to: strengthen its position in the value-added services sector for the healthcare sector and expand its clinical trial offering to other countries (Portugal and Italy) while maintaining its local CRO approach; expand the range of services and multimedia and innovation capabilities in an increasingly demanding environment; and strengthen a key strategic area for its clients, such as communication and agency consultancy.

Enrique Centelles Satrústegui, managing partner of GED, says: “With these three acquisitions, we take a new step towards our goal of creating a national leader with a European presence through a buy&build strategy. Evidenze operates in a sector with high organic growth projected for the future, highly fragmented and highly digitalised, especially after the Covid-19 effect.”

Kerman Elordi, CEO of Evidenze, says: “With these additions we consolidate a differential proposal in the market, providing value during all stages of the life of the product, from its development during the research phase, to its launch on the market and its transfer to daily clinical practice.”

DLA Piper Spain office team was led by partner and head of Corporate Jose Maria Gil-Robles (pictured left) and partner and head of Finance Juan Gelabert Chasco (pictured right), together with a team formed by: Corporate senior associate Héctor Gómez Ferrero, and associate María Gutiérrez González-Palacios, Finance senior associate Carmen Fernández-Ladreda Obegero, and associates Antonio Olarte Aguinaga and Miguel Mestanza Galatas.