Larka is very pleased to announce it performed the Commercial Due Diligence to support Elyan Partners’ acquisition of a majority stake in the CRO Business Unit of leading French Biopharmaceutical company Oncodesign.
Elyan Partners – acting as the exclusive advisor to Edmond de Rothschild Equity Strategies IV, a Private Equity fund – enters into exclusive negotiations for the acquisition of a majority stake in the capital of Oncodesign (Service) followed by the filing of a simplified takeover offer. Oncodesign (Service) is the Contract Research Organization (CRO) service BU of Oncodesign, a Dijon-based Biotech and Service company.
This deal also marks another successful collaboration with the Elyan Partners team, as Larka provided an Integrated Due Diligence – including Commercial, Operational and Technical Due Diligence – for Edmond de Rothschild III and Keensight Capital to support the acquisition of Finnish Bio-CDMO Biovian.
How did Larka support Elyan Partners acquisition process?
This Commercial Due Diligence process provided Elyan Partners with key insights and recommendations, giving Larka a decisive role in the overall decision-making process, and in turn, the upcoming acquisition of Oncodesign by the Paris-based Private Equity firm.
“We are thrilled of our continuous partnership with the Larka team who provided us with great commercial and strategic insight. With their assistance, we were able to quickly firm up our conviction on the asset and outline our strategic roadmap. We look forward to working with Pierre-Anthony, Adrien and all the deal team members on our future projects.”
Jean-François Félix, Maxence de Vienne and Vincent Manès – Partners at Elyan Partners
As for all of Larka’s Merger and Acquisition services, this Commercial Due Diligence process leveraged our extensive life sciences industry and biopharmaceuticals knowledge – and in this case the Drug Discovery and precision medicine universes – to provide Elyan with a comprehensive picture of Oncodesign’s:
- Services and core value proposition within the Drug Discovery segment
- Customer environment and market feedbacks
- Positioning in the competitive landscape
- Business Plan review and growth avenues
What’s coming next for Oncodesign?
With over 600 clients including the world’s largest Biotech & Pharma companies, Oncodesign is already considered a well-established player with a recognized expertise in Preclinical assessment of innovative therapies within the field of oncology and immuno-inflammation, as well as a comprehensive set of capabilities in:
- Medicinal Chemistry
- Pharmaco-imaging
- Molecular Radiotherapy (MRT)
- Pharmacokinetics
- Bio-Analysis
- Humanized Models
Provided that the “service” and “biotech” business separation is completed, Elyan Partners will acquire a control block representing 52.17% of Oncodesign’s capital – into which Philippe Genne, CEO and Founder, should reinvest through his holding company PCG to support the CRO services development.
While maintaining Oncodesign’s sustained organic growth, this new management structure will also initiate further acquisitions to increase its scientific capabilities, expand its geographic footprint and customer base – to ultimately build the next European one-stop-shop leader of the Drug Discovery field.
Read our latest M&A transaction news.
About Elyan Partners, the private equity firm advised:
A partner member of Edmond de Rothschild Private Equity, Elyan Partners SAS (“Elyan”) is a financial investment advisor, and the exclusive advisor for the ERES funds and advisor to the Privilege funds with the Edmond de Rothschild Group. Edmond de Rothschild Equity Strategies IV SLP (“ERES IV”) invests in medium-sized companies in Europe and North America, mainly in four themes: the biotech ecosystem, e-commerce, financial services and new consumers. Edmond de Rothschild Private Equity is the commercial name of the Private Equity entities of the Edmond de Rothschild Group and manages more than CHF 3.4 billion in assets under management. With an entrepreneurial approach to finance and supported by strong convictions, Edmond de Rothschild Private Equity builds and develops differentiated investment strategies that provide a sustainable response to environmental and social issues. Founded in 1953, the Group had nearly CHF 178 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2021, 2,500 employees and 29 locations around the world.
About Oncodesign, the Contract Research Organization target:
Oncodesign is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to precision medicine, founded in 1995 by its current CEO and majority shareholder, and has been listed on Euronext Growth Market since April 2014. Its mission is the discovery of effective therapies to fight cancer and other diseases without therapeutic solutions. With its unique experience acquired by working with more than 1 000 clients, including the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, along with its unique technological platform combining Artificial Intelligence, state-of-the-art medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, regulated bioanalysis, medical imaging, Oncodesign is able to select new therapeutic targets, design and develop potential preclinical candidates through to clinical phases. Oncodesign has configured its organization to offer innovative services to its customers and to license its proprietary molecules. Applied to kinase inhibitors, which represent a market estimated at over $65 billion by 2027 and accounting for almost 25% of the pharmaceutical industry’s R&D expenditure, Oncodesign’s technology has already enabled the targeting of several promising molecules with substantial therapeutic potential, in oncology and elsewhere, along with partnerships with global pharmaceutical groups. Oncodesign is based in Dijon, France, in the heart of the town’s university and hospital hub, and within the Paris-Saclay cluster. Oncodesign has 240 employees within 3 Business Units (BU): Service, Biotech, Artificial Intelligence and subsidiaries in Canada and the USA.