Ardian signs an agreement with 3i infrastructure for the sale of its stake in Ionisos

Established in 1993 in Civrieux, France, Ionisos is the third largest cold sterilization provider globally and operates a network of 11 plants in Europe with market leading positions on the French and Spanish markets. It has over 200 employees and a highly diversified and loyal client base of more than 1,000 clients. Ionisos delivers a mission-critical service for the medical and pharmaceutical industries. 

The need for pharmaceutical products and medical instruments and the associated sterilization services is driven by attractive market fundamentals and non-cyclical market drivers, including an ageing population in Western Europe, a growing demand for medical services increasingly requiring disposal medical supplies, as well as strong regulation on sterilization of medical and pharmaceutical products. 

Since Ardian Expansion acquired a stake in July 2016, the company's turnover has almost doubled. Ionisos has experienced strong organic growth and has implemented a dynamic external growth strategy over the past three years, through five acquisitions in five European countries (Germany, Spain, Estonia, France and Italy).

François Jerphagnon, Member of the Board of Ardian France and Head of Ardian Expansion, commented: “We are delighted to have supported Ionisos' management in its growth strategy and its international expansion. In line with its expertise, Ardian Expansion has transformed a top tier French player into a European leader through an active acquisition strategy. We would like to thank the management team and all the employees for the extraordinary work achieved.”

Marie Arnaud-Battandier, Managing Director in the Ardian Expansion team, added: "We are very happy to have participated in Ionisos’ development. We have contributed to strengthening the management team and the group's international expansion. We are confident that the company now has everything to succeed in its new development phase.“

Christoph Herkens, chairman of Ionisos, concluded: “We are delighted to have partnered with Ardian over the past few years. Without this active support, the development we have seen would not have been possible at this speed and with this coherence. We would like to thank Ardian for the trust they have placed in the management, the great openness during this partnership. The Ionisos teams are well prepared and highly motivated to enter a new phase of growth with 3i Infrastructure and we look forward to this future partnership.”