Ergon to Acquire Majority Stake in Elitech

Ergon Capital Partners (Brussels, Belgium), a mid-market private equity company, has signed an agreement to buy a majority stake in Elitech Group (Puteaux, France).

A leading independent manufacturer and distributor of in vitro diagnostic equipment, tests, and reagents, Elitech focuses on small to medium-sized, proximity, and emergency diagnostic laboratories. The Group is currently active in three segments of the diagnostics market: biochemistry, microbiology, and molecular diagnostics.

In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010, Elitech Group reported proforma sales of US$125.7 million and Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) of $16.5 million.

Pierre Debiais, CEO of Elitech Group commented: "This is a strategically important step in the development of the Group. Ergon is a reputed investment institution, which will provide us with its expertise in the future transformation of the Group by bringing further professional qualities and capacity to the organization and by assisting us in making add-on acquisitions."

Ergon targets equity investment in companies located in France, Benelux, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland. Headquartered in Brussels, Ergon has offices in Paris, Milan, and Madrid. Ergon's investment philosophy is one of value creation in partnership with management, following an industrial strategy to generate long-term capital gains.

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