Sub-investment grade corporate credit specialist Alcentra, part of BNY Mellon, has invested in Groupe Bio 7 to support its acquisition by Ardian (former AXA Private Equity). Groupe Bio 7 is a leading French operator of clinical analysis laboratories in the Ile de France region founded in 1991 by current CEO Frederic Barroux, with a current network of over 50 laboratories.
The funding takes the form of a unitranche investment and has been provided by funds managed by Alcentra with Bank of Ireland and Hayfin Capital Management co-investing in the transaction.
The transaction is consistent with Alcentra’s investment strategy based on lending to attractive European mid-market companies that are experiencing less traditional banking support and to whom Alcentra aims to lend at attractive risk-adjusted returns whilst benefitting from strong downside protection, the company said in a statement.
The deal follows recent investments in CorpAcq, Mountain Warehouse, Busy Bees, Cambridge Education, Caffè Nero, Chesapeake Plastic Packaging, Menix and Groupe Looping and is another example of Alcentra’s commitment to a European direct lending strategy.
Alcentra has been sourcing and arranging financing to middle market businesses since its launch in 2003. To date the company has invested over €1.8bn in more than 85 middle market transactions across senior debt, unitranche, second lien, mezzanine and equity co-investments. Bio 7 represents the 16th investment executed by Alcentra as part of its Direct Lending strategy initiated in 2013.
Hamburg
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