Scandinavian private equity firm Nordic Capital has acquired a 25% stake in Israeli medical device company Equashield Medical for $300 million.
This values the Israeli company at over $1.2 billion.
Equashield Medical, which was founded by chief executive officer Eric Shem-Tov in 2008, manufactures and markets protective devices that make it safer for hospital workers to administer drugs in hospitals.
As part of the deal, Shem-Tov will retain a 25% stake. His estimated take out from the deal will be $100 million.
None of the sale money will go to the company but will instead be used to buy out stakes from other shareholders, who include investment house Altshuler Shaham that currently owns a 10% stake in the Equashield.
Others that will sell their stakes include the company’s chairman Meron Mann, who joined it in 2010; co-founder Marino Kriheli and Yosi Sagol, whose father Itzhak Sagol owns Keter Plastics. A bunch of company executives who received stock options over the years also stand to gain from the deal.
The company has been profitable from the very beginning and has not needed external investors for the same reason. It employs around 500 people in Israel, the US, and Europe. Its R&D and manufacturing centre is headquartered in the industrial area of Tefen in northern Israel.
The deal comes even as Nordic Capital has reportedly floated its 11th and Europe’s largest fund this year. The PE major’s latest fund is set to close at €9 billion. The fund will target investments in sectors such as technology, healthcare and financial services. The fund held its first close at €7.9 billion.
In its 10th fund, Nordic Capital had raised €6 billion. The PE firm also manages the Evolution Fund with €1.2 billion in committed capital.
The deal comes just days after Nordic Capital announced the completion of its acquisition of advisory firm Ascot Loyd from Oaktree Capital Management.
Since its inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested more than €19 billion across over 120 transactions.
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