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EQT, a Swedish global investment organization, will return its ownership position in German prosthetics firm Ottobock to its major shareholders.

The transaction closing is expected to happen in the first half of this year.

In 2017, EQT of Sweden valued Ottobock at around €3.15 billion ($3.4 billion) and invested in the company.

Otto Bock established the firm in 1919, and since then, it has been a leading innovator in the prosthetics industry, releasing groundbreaking products, including the first lower limb prosthesis controlled entirely by microprocessors.

The 20% Stake

According to an email statement sent by the buyout company on Wednesday, March 13, the 20% stake in Ottobock was sold to the family of billionaire Hans Georg Näder. Sources close to the transaction said that Ottobock was valued at about €5.5 billion ($6 billion), with the sale bringing in around €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion), as reported by BNN Bloomberg.

Earlier, sources stated that the Näder family planned to use a €1.1 billion payment-in-kind (PIK) note at the holding firm level to fund the purchase. The insiders say that among the businesses providing the funding include KKR & Co., Macquarie, Carlyle, and Hayfin Capital Management. PIK notes allow borrowers to postpone interest payments until the loan's maturity date.