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| Sebia MINICAP Flex Piercing instrument--Courtesy of Sebia |
French diagnostics outfit Sebia is up for sale, and its current private equity owner hopes to fetch a cool $1.37 billion for it. Sebia has the distinction of having been bought and sold regularly in recent years, fetching an ever-escalating price, and this one would be the highest yet.
The Financial Times reported that London private equity operation Cinven planned to sell Sebia four years after acquiring it in 2010 from the private equity firm Montagu in a $1.1 billion unsolicited cash bid. Back in 2006, Montagu snatched up Sebia for approximately $550 million, according to the story.
Sebia is based in Paris and manufactures medical diagnostic equipment that clinicians use to screen for blood cancer, diabetes, and other diseases, the Financial Times said.
As the story explained, Cinven is expected to appoint an adviser within a few weeks who would manage the sale. (Two inside sources cited this.) But who would buy Sebia? Potential bids are expected from trade buyers and other private equity groups, the sources told the Financial Times.
There's always a chance, of course, that Sebia could attract an even higher price than the one Cinven wants. The Financial Times noted that European investment opportunities haven't exactly been quick to materialize. With that in mind, other private equity groups that might bid for the company told the newspaper that they expect fairly robust competition.
Cinven isn't just investing in diagnostics. Earlier this year, the company forked over $815 million for a majority stake in Medpace, a Cincinnati-based CRO with a growing presence in Asia. Cinven also pursues investments in the pharmaceutical world.
- read the full Financial Times story (sub. req.)
- here's FierceMedicalDevices' take