IK Investment Partners enters exclusive negotiations with Ardian for the acquisition of Kersia

IK Investment Partners (“IK”), a leading private equity firm, is pleased to announce that the IK IX Fund (“the Fund”) has entered into exclusive negotiations with Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, to acquire a majority stake in Kersia (“the Company”), a global leader in biosecurity and food safety. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Kersia was formed as a new company in 2016 after Hypred acquired Antigerm, LCB Food Safety, G3, Kilco, Choisy Laboratories and Holchem, with each acquisition carefully chosen for their complementary technologies, leading market positions, and business expertise. The Company has tripled in size in less than four years.

Over the last four years, Kersia has grown to become a global leader in biosecurity and food safety. The Company, which has revenues in excess of €300 million, now operates in more than 120 countries with a workforce of over 1,500 people.

Sébastien Bossard, CEO of Kersia said: “We are delighted that IK, one of the most educated and experienced sponsors in our sectors of activity, has entered into negotiations to support us on our next stage of growth. Together, we will be able to pursue this extraordinary entrepreneurial adventure, of which we are proud. We will rely on our teams and innovative solutions, while continuing to serve farmers, food manufacturers and restaurant owners, as well as our customers in the health sector, who have placed their trust in us for many years. We would like to thank Ardian for their incredible contribution over the past four years.”

Dan Soudry, Managing Partner at IK and advisor to the IK IX Fund said: “We are very impressed by Kersia’s expertise and impressive track record of growth demonstrated over recent years. Kersia has built robust market positions globally, while keeping its customers at the centre of its strategy. We are delighted to have the opportunity to support Kersia and its management team in their growth strategy and consolidation of the biosecurity market.”

Thibault Basquin, Head of Americas Investments for Ardian Buyout and Managing Director added: “I would like to sincerely congratulate Sébastien Bossard and all the teams at Kersia for the tremendous adventure we have experienced in recent years. With the support of Ardian, Kersia has notably deployed a strong sustainability roadmap. Leading a responsible growth strategy and the integration of six companies in such a short period of time requires first-rate skills and discipline. We are proud to have contributed to this success.”

The transaction remains subject to the approval of antitrust authorities and to the information and consultation processes of the relevant employee representative bodies in accordance with applicable laws.

Kersia is the first investment in the IK IX Fund, which closed earlier this year at its hard cap of €2.85 billion.

Parties involved with the transaction

Buyside
IK Investment Partners: Dan Soudry, Rémi Buttiaux, Vincent Elriz, Guillaume Veber, Mathieu Carton
Buyer Financial advisor: Amala Partners (Jean-Baptiste Marchand), Natixis Partners (Ludovic Tron, Thomas Laroque, Bertrand Duquesne)
Buyer Legal advisor: Willkie Farr & Gallagher (Eduardo Fernandez, Grégory de Saxcé)
Buyer Strategic DD: Bain & Company (Daphne Vattier)
Buyer Financial DD: Eight Advisory (Pascal Raidron, Katia Wagner, François Gallizia)
Buyer legal, tax, social DD: KPMG (Florence Olivier, Albane Eglinger, Xavier Houard)
Management legal advisor: Claris Avocats (Me Marie-Isabelle Leveques), Cornet Vincent Segurel (Me Pierre Lamidon)
Management Financial advisor: ManageMens (Guillaume Darbon)

Sellside
Ardian: Thibault Basquin, Nicolas Darnaud, Alexis Manet, Alexandre Vannelle, Jean-Baptiste Hunaut
Sellers Financial Advisor: Evercore (Tom Massey, Greg-Henri Bize, Paul-Emmanuel Prunet, Maximilian Rempel), Sycomore Corporate Finance (François Vigne, Tristan Dupont, Aurélien Singer, Quentin de Fréminville)
Sellers Legal advisor: Latham & Watkins (Gaëtan Gianasso, Timothée Brunello, Aymeric Fradin, François Blanchet)
Strategic VDD: Bain & Company (Jérôme Brunet, Andrea Gondekova, Ghofrane Maaroufi)
Financial VDD: Accuracy (Frédéric Loeper, Florent Lachenaud, Thomas Brandt)
Legal VDD:Latham & Watkins (Gaëtan Gianasso, Timothée Brunello, Aymeric Fradin, François Blanchet)
Tax VDD: Arsene Taxand (Mirouna Verban, Ludovic Genet)
Environment VDD: Aecom (ChinChin Lim)
Insurance VDD: Marsh (Jean-Marie Dargaignaratz)
ESG VDD: Indefi (Emmanuel Parmentier, Maxence Lavolle)

For further questions, please contact:

IK Investment Partners
Maitland/AMO
James McFarlane
Phone: +44 (0) 7584 142 665
jmcfarlane@maitland.co.uk

Kersia
Blandine Serpaud
Phone: +33 2 99 16 50 04
blandine.serpaud@kersia-group.com

Ardian
Headland
Carl Leijonhufvud
Phone: +44 (0)20 3805 4827
cleijonhufvud@headlandconsultancy.com