The Paris office of Simmons & Simmons has advised DENTRESSANGLE, a family-investment holding company, in his acquisition of a majority stake in MARLE, a leading orthopaedic implant contract manufacturer, alongside its Management team, from majority shareholder, the IK VII Fund advised by IK Investment Partners (IK), and minority shareholder, The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG; Carlyle).
With a transaction value close to €800m, the operation has certainly one of the most important EBITDA multiple of the year for the life sciences sector in France.
Established over 50 years ago, MARLE has become one of the reference suppliers to the orthopaedic industry. The company provides specialized manufacturing services for the production of hip, knee, shoulder, spine and extremities implants as well as instruments of the highest quality. Exclusively focused on orthopaedic manufacturing, MARLE is a strategic and reliable long-term partner to OEMs all over the world, offering end-to-end manufacturing capabilities, from forging and casting through machining, polishing, coating and packaging services, allowing the company to offer “implants in the box” to its clients.
Headquartered in Lyon (France), MARLE has 750 employees and runs six certified state-of-the-art production sites in France and Switzerland. The company generates annual revenues of circa €150m.
The evolution of MARLE’s shareholding coincides with an ambitious growth plan which aims at accelerating the company’s development in the US and Asia, further expanding downstream in the value chain and reinforcing its one-stop-shop offering.
The accompaniment of DENTRESSANGLE by Simmons & Simmons for the regulatory and Due Diligence aspects of the operation confirms the predominant status of the firm for M&A and Regulatory matters in the field of life sciences and healthcare in France.
The team was led by partner Guillaume-Denis Faure (Dispute Resolution) and partner Simonetta Giordano (Corporate) and composed of:
- Christian Taylor (Partner), Anna Velitchkova (of counsel), Sharon Cohen, Antoine Melchior and Alexandre Vernisse on corporate aspects.
- Paul L’Huillier (supervising associate) on litigation aspects.
- Laurence Renard (Partner), Claire Le Touzé (of counsel) and Naré Arshakyan on employment law aspects.
- Sarah Bailey (Partner), Frédérique Potin (of counsel) and Hélène Choquet on Intellectual Property aspects.
- Alexandre Regniault (Partner), Anne-Catherine Perroy (of counsel), Emmanuel Garnier (of counsel), Damien Bertier, and Pierre-Alexis Maingon on regulatory aspects.
- Quentin Charluteau (of counsel) and Berfin Polat on insurance aspects.
- Elisa Bocianowski (Partner) and Louis Delestrée on real estate aspects.
