Warburg trebles money on Euromedic sale

US private equity firm Warburg Pincus has made a 3x return on its original investment in Budapest-headquartered healthcare business Euromedic International.

The group’s new owners, Ares Life Sciences (ALS) and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity (MLGPE), are reported to have paid €800m, including debt, for a controlling stake, generating an IRR of 60% for Warburg.

Euromedic specializes in dialysis services and diagnostic imaging, and recently entered the laboratory diagnostics and radiotherapy markets. Warburg acquired a majority interest alongside GE Healthcare in 2005, at which time the company had 32 healthcare centres in four companies. It is now present in 14 countries 153 wholly-owned healthcare centres.

Nick Lowcock, a senior advisor of Warburg, said: “We have backed Euromedic during a period of significant growth and consolidated its position as leader in its markets, entering ten new geographies through both organic growth and acquisitions. We would like to thank Joseph Priel and Janos Mészáros, and their country management teams and staff for their hard work in making this a successful investment for us. We are confident of Euromedic’s continued success.”

The purchase of Euromedic is ALS’ first since its launch earlier this year. Its an investment firm backed by former executives from Serono, targeting EU based healthcare opportunities.

The new shareholders will continue to back the current management team, led by co-founders Joseph Priel (CEO) and Janos Mészáros (chairman).