On January 26th 2021, Sagard announced it has entered into exclusive negotiations with Evolem and Unigrains to acquire Nutrisens, a leading player in medical nutrition.
Created in 2011 by Georges Devesa with the support of Evolem, merging three companies already owned by the family office, Nutrisens is a European independent and fast-growing business, privileged partner of healthcare professionals (hospitals, nursing homes, retail pharmacies), offering a wide range of nutrition products addressing malnutrition and dysphagia pathologies affecting vulnerable and elderly people thanks to its two main product lines: medical meals (mixed-meals, jellified water) and clinical nutrition (oral nutrition supplements).
The group’s positioning relies on its clinical expertise coupled with a strong culture of innovation and high taste and quality requirements, serving a dual purpose: addressing specific medical needs while assuring every meal is a pleasant experience. Since its inception, Nutrisens has expanded rapidly in France and abroad. The company has significantly invested in production capacities and made 8 acquisitions to address new countries, broaden its offering and strengthen its organization.
As of today, Nutrisens operates 5 production facilities, addressing more than 10,000 customers in France, Spain, Italy and Belgium. The company generates c.€87m revenue and employs more than 400 people.
Sagard’s acquisition of Nutrisens1, would give its management, who would remain a significant shareholder, the financial, operational, and human resources to pursue its international development, through both organic growth and acquisitions.
Georges Devesa, CEO and founder of Nutrisens, commented: “The Nutrisens’ team has the ambition to become a significant player in clinical nutrition and medical meals in Europe. Partnering with Sagard will allow us to accelerate our international development. Our discussions demonstrated that we share the same values that will enable us to continue the journey initiated with Evolem and Unigrains.”
Antoine Ernoult‐Dairaine and Maxime Baudry, Partners at Sagard, added: “We are glad to support Georges Devesa and his teams in Nutrisens’ next expansion phase. Under Evolem’s stewardship, George Devesa has developed a remarkable company leveraging on a recognized nutrition expertise coupled with strong medical innovation capabilities. In the last few years, the team successfully integrated eight acquisitions, creating the leading platform in France with the ambition to address medical institutions and pharmacies across Europe. We are delighted to have convinced Nutrisens’s management and shareholders of our ability to support the company’s future expansion.”
ABOUT SAGARD
Sagard is a French investment fund that provides equity capital to support the development of mid-sized companies led by ambitious management teams. Founded in 2003 with the support of the Desmarais family, Sagard’s investor base comprises leading industrial families as well as blue chip institutional investors. Since its inception, Sagard and its Paris-based team of 10 professionals have invested in 34 industrial and service companies in France. Following a first investment in animal health (Ceva), Nutrisens will be the second investment of Sagard 4.
The Sagard team comprises Antoine Ernoult-Dairaine, Maxime Baudry, Nicolas Bonnard, Adrien Daudey and Augustin Perrin.
ABOUT EVOLEM
Evolem is a family office, created in 1997 and owned 100% by Bruno Rousset, the founder of April Group. Its entrepreneurial approach to investing is based on long term strategic vision, shared with the management and with no exit horizon, in order to accompany the development of reference players in specific sectors. Catalyst for initiatives, Evolem employs 22 persons and relies on its entrepreneurial, familial and civic heritage to promote responsible investing. Long-term partner and shareholder, Evolem helps mid-sized companies to grow, backs start-up and more generally supports philanthropic projects.
Evolem has accompanied more than 100 companies since inception, representing today more than 5,700 jobs and €700m in aggregate revenue.
www.evolem.com
ABOUT NUTRISENS
Specialist in clinical nutrition and medical meals, Nutrisens is partnering with healthcare professionals for more than 10 years. The company has developed a strong culture of innovation, working hand in hand with families, healthcare professionals and patients to address the needs of hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies and individuals. Present in Europe, Nutrisens produces its products in France to address patients’ specific nutrition needs and provide tasteful meals to vulnerable and elderly people.
François Noir and Sandrine Escaleira, Partners at Evolem, concluded: “We are extremely proud
of what we achieved, together with Nutrisens, demonstrating our long-term investment
strategy. Evolem’s team has supported the company for 13 years and, alongside Georges
Devesa, managed to create the reference medical nutrition player in France and Europe.
Handing over Nutrisens to partners sharing our values, we are convinced that the company
and its management team will achieve significant milestones in its future development.”
ABOUT UNIGRAINS
For over 55 years, Unigrains has accompanied the development of agri-food and agro-industry companies providing tailor-made financial solutions in equity and quasi-equity, as well as contributing its recognized industry expertise. Unigrains manages 1 billion euros and is a partner for nearly 100 companies, operating at various stages of their development, notably capital restructurings, strategic investments and acquisitions, and ensuring national and international growth.
NUTRISENS, key figures:
▪ €87m revenue in 2020
▪ 33% of revenue outside France
▪ Present in c.20 countries
▪ 409 employees across Europe
▪ 10,000 clients
▪ 4 subsidiaries: France, Belgium, Italy, Spain ▪ For more information, www.nutrisens.com
PARTIES INVOLVED IN THE TRANSACTION ON BEHALF OF SAGARD
- Legal advisor: Mayer Brown (Guillaume Kuperfils, Gautier Elies, Patrick Teboul, Marine Ollive, Marion Minard)
- Tax advisor: Mayer Brown (Laurent Borey, Elodie Deschamps, Jean-Philippe Coiffard)
- Financial BDD: PwC (Martin Naquet-Radiguet, Thierry Charpentier, Charles Guenel, Zaixi Liu)
- StrategicBDD:L.E.K(ArnaudSergent,DavidDanon-Boileau,FrédéricDessertine,Adrien Korniloff)
- Financing: Idinvest Partners (Nicolas Nedelec, Hugo Torresano)
- PARTIES INVOLVED IN THE TRANSACTION ON BEHALF OF EVOLEM AND UNIGRAINS
- M&A : Amala Partners (Jean-Baptiste Marchand, Benjamin Giner, Victor Lefrancois, François Coupe)
- Legal advisor: Volt (Emmanuel Vergnaud, François-Joseph Brix, Hugo Lequien)
- Financial VDD: 8Advisory (Xavier Mesguish, Maxime Goerens, Antoine Tête)
- StrategicVDD:RolandBerger(OlivierdePanafieu,PierreAntoineBodin,JeanMuraire)
- Legal,TaxandSocialVDD:AlcyaConseil(LaurentSimon,SabinePrades,MarionMenu)
- PARTIES INVOLVED IN THE TRANSACTION ON BEHALF OF MANAGEMENT
- Legal advisor : Jeausserand Audouard (Faustine Paoluzzo, Diane Rufenacht, Elle Otto, Carole Furst, Charlotte Elkoun, Alexandre Dejardin)
- Advisory : Edmond De Rothschild (Nicolas Durieux)
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Press contact Nutrisens
Nicole Sammarco
ESCAL Consulting [email protected]
Tel : 01 44 94 95 66 / 06 51 84 65 67
Maja Tailleux
ESCAL Consulting [email protected]
Tel : 01 44 94 95 65 / 07 66 79 41 20
Press contact Sagard
Stéphanie Tabouis
Publicis Consultants [email protected] Tel : 06 03 84 05 03
Press contact Evolem
Xavier Cayon
Ekno [email protected] Tel : 06 23 12 63 46
Press contact Unigrains
Ari Levine
Unigrains [email protected] Tel : 06 69 20 79 19
