Sweden’s EQT is the latest private equity group positioning itself to buy Device Technologies, with the $1bn-plus auction now set to launch by the end of March.
EQT joins The Carlyle Group and CV Capital in exploring an acquisition of the medical technology service provider, heading to the market through Jefferies and Morgan Stanley on behalf of Navis Capital.
It is shaping up to be one of the largest auctions for an Australian healthcare business this year.
The biggest market for Device Technologies is healthcare robotics. The group previously had the No.1 position for distribution in orthopaedics and prosthesis, although that is no longer the case.
Device Technologies operates in niche markets, and has a strong foothold in ophthalmology.
Other private equity firms expected to be in the mix are Bain Capital and TPG Capital.
Navis purchased Device Technologies for just over $700m from Pemba Capital and its founders in 2018, when the healthcare company was earning about $70m annually.
Device Technologies, which operate in the Asia-Pacific, generates profits by securing Australian distribution rights for products from overseas companies for at least 10 years, and getting them on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.
EQT has been a prolific investor in Australia’s healthcare sector, buying cancer care provider Icon Group in 2021 after acquiring the nation’s largest diagnostic imaging service provider, I-Med Radiology, in 2014, before selling the business to Permira.
Global buyout funds are cashed-up. The Wall Street Journal is reporting private-equity firm TPG Capital is setting up for a banner fundraising year with a goal of doubling its managed assets over the next several years.
TPG intends to “raise significantly more” than the $US30bn ($48bn) it banked in 2024, which was almost double the amount it raised in 2023 and reflected the growing impact of its credit business, the WSJ reported.
Carlyle has $US441bn of assets under management as it pivots from targeting institutions for capital investment and towards wealthy individuals, hiring more executives to service the sector.
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