BC Partners InfoRLife deal gives firm co-control stake

BC Partners InfoRLife dealmaking has added a healthcare asset to the firm’s newest fund, with BC Partners agreeing to buy a co-control stake in the Switzerland-headquartered company, PE Hub reported. Financial terms were not disclosed, leaving valuation, leverage and ownership percentages outside the public record.

The stake is being acquired from founder and chief executive Sergio Dusci and the founding families of ACS Dobfar, in partnership with ACS Dobfar, according to PE Hub. InfoRLife operates as a dossier developer and contract development and manufacturing organisation, or CDMO, with activities tied to ready-to-use intravenous infusion bags.

The transaction is BC Partners’ second investment through Fund XII, following its acquisition of Fortidia, an asset-light fulfilment and logistics business. PE Hub reported that Fund XII will follow the same sector-led approach used by earlier BC Partners funds, with a focus on a diversified set of defensive growth companies in the mid-market.

What does InfoRLife do?

InfoRLife was founded in 2002 as part of ACS Dobfar and serves the ready-to-use IV infusion bag market, according to PE Hub. The company provides development, manufacturing and out-licensing capabilities across sites in Switzerland, Romania and Tunisia.

A CDMO develops and manufactures products for other businesses, allowing customers to outsource technical production and related development work. In pharmaceuticals and healthcare products, that role can cover the path from formulation and documentation to manufacturing support, depending on the company’s capabilities.

BC Partners plans to work with ACS Dobfar to invest in research and development, expand InfoRLife’s product pipeline, improve operations and pursue further acquisitions, according to a statement cited by PE Hub. The capital allocation points to a platform strategy in which a private equity sponsor backs internal growth and potential bolt-on deals around an existing operating business.

A co-control stake generally gives an investor shared governance rights with another controlling party, rather than full unilateral control. In this agreement, BC Partners is taking its position alongside ACS Dobfar, while the selling parties include Dusci and the founding families of ACS Dobfar, according to PE Hub.

Who advised on the BC Partners InfoRLife transaction?

BC Partners was advised by Latham & Watkins, Studio Legale Tributario Facchini Rossi Michelutti, PwC, Bär & Karrer, Jefferies and Rothschild, PE Hub reported. ACS Dobfar’s advisers were Alira Health and LCA.

The announcement did not provide a timetable for closing or state whether the deal requires regulatory approvals. It also did not disclose revenue, earnings, enterprise value or the size of the stake being acquired.

For BC Partners, the transaction extends Fund XII into healthcare after the Fortidia investment in fulfilment and logistics. For InfoRLife, the deal brings a private equity backer to a business with operations spanning three countries and a stated plan to put capital into R&D, pipeline expansion, operational work and acquisitions.

This story draws on original reporting from PE Hub.