IK Investment Partners acquires majority stake in Colosseum Dental, a leading Scandinavian provider of dental care business

IK Investment Partners (“IK”, formerly known as Industri Kapital), a Pan-European private equity firm, has signed an agreement with Trallfa, founding owner Gard Lauvsnes and other shareholders to acquire a majority stake in Norwegian Colosseum Dental (“Colosseum”), the leading provider of dental care in Scandinavia. Gard Lauvsnes will reinvest a significant proportion of the sale proceeds alongside IK to support the future value creation of the Company.  Terms of the agreed sale were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Oslo and employing approximately 350 professionals in total, Colosseum is the leading provider of private dental care in Scandinavia. The company currently operates 10 clinics in Norway, 7 in Sweden and 2 in Denmark, offering a range of services from basic prophylactic care to specialist surgery to a broad customer base.

Founded in 1986, Colosseum offers a full range of dental care services through its state of the art clinics across Scandinavia. The company’s philosophy is to provide the highest standard of dental care to its customers based on a business model that attracts the best dental professionals by allowing them to focus fully on the provision of dental care in a flexible and stimulating working environment and supported by centralised support functions.

The dental care markets in Scandinavia are attractive with strong drivers like growing and ageing populations, increased used of advanced and expensive treatments and increased recognition of dental health as important for overall health. Furthermore, the dental care markets are fragmented and Colosseum is very well positioned as the only pan-Scandinavian provider of dental care to continue to drive consolidation.

For the financial year ended 31 December 2009, Colosseum generated revenues NOK 382 million, up 19% versus previous year and an EBITDA of NOK 38 million.

Trygve Grindheim, Partner at IK, commented: “We are very excited to partner with Colosseum, Gard and the rest of the management team.  The Company has successfully grown into a leading player in Scandinavia and this unique position, coupled with the favourable market dynamics, provides an excellent foundation for Colosseum’s future success.”

Gard Lauvsnes, Chief Dentist and Founder of Colosseum added: “We are very pleased to be partnering with IK. Their support, experience and international reach will prove invaluable to us as we continue to implement our business strategy. I look forward to continuing with the business as we consolidate our position.”

The transaction is subject to customary anti-trust approvals.

Colosseum is the second deal announced by IK this week following the acquisition of a majority stake in Agros Nova, a leading diversified food and drink company in Poland, announced on 14 June 2010.

For questions:

IK Investment Partners
Trygve Grindheim, Partner
Tel: +44 207 304 4307

Charlotte Laveson, Communication Manager
Tel: +44 207 304 7136

Colosseum
Gard Lauvsnes, Founder and Chief Dentist
Tel: +47 92 05 16 10

About Colosseum
For more information visit the company website: www.colosseum.no