Private equity group EQT agreed to buy German bandage and plaster cast maker BSN medical for about 1.8 billion euros ($2.2 billion), sealing one of the largest buyouts in Europe this year.
BSN medical, which had revenue of 665 million euros ($829.1 million) in 2011, had drawn interest from personal care group Kimberly Clark and buyout firms including BC Partners and CVC, who made a joint bid, in an auction run by Goldman Sachs and HSBC.
The deal to buy BSN medical from rival buyout group Montagu Private Equity is subject to statutory regulatory clearances, the private equity firms said on Monday.
Sweden's EQT, a third owned by holding company Investor AB , said on Monday it planned to accelerate BSN's growth by investing in its core business and in geographic expansion into new markets such as Asia and Latin America, and by making further add-on acquisitions.
BSN medical markets its wound and fracture care products internationally under a range of brand names including Gypsona, Actimove and Cutimed.
The deal is another example in a wave of so-called secondary buyouts, in which one private equity house buys a business from a rival.
CVC agreed to buy Swedish tools group Ahlsell earlier this year in a similarly sized deal, while Silver Lake Partners and Partners Group recently picked up tax-free shopping business Global Blue from Equistone in a 1 billion euro deal.
Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank acted as financial advisors to EQT. ($1 = 0.8021 euros)
This article is copyrighted by Reuters
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