Germany’s Capiton eyes single-asset pharma deal – exclusive

Park Hill is understood to be running the process which involves omega-3 producer KD Pharma Bexbach.

A German buyout specialist is in the advanced stages of a single-asset restructuring on its crisis-era fund, Secondaries Investor has learned.

Mittelstand-focused Capiton wants to extract KD Pharma Bexbach from its 2009-vintage Capiton IV and place it in a continuation vehicle backed by secondaries capital, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Buyers have been identified, Secondaries Investor understands.

The Berlin-headquartered firm is working with Park Hill on the deal, according to the two sources.

Capiton IV raised €350 million by final close in 2009 from limited partners including ATP Private Equity Partners and Aberdeen Standard Investments, according to PEI data. The terms being offered to LPs and the potential size of the deal are not clear.

KD Pharma Bexbach is a manufacturer of highly purified omega-3 fatty acids for use in supplements. Capiton acquired the firm in 2013. Other assets remaining in Capiton IV include a minority stake in optical measurement technology firm Trioptics, according to the GP’s website.

The past two years have seen a spike in the number of single-asset restructurings. Last month, Secondaries Investor reported that Blackstone was moving wireless infrastructure operator Phoenix Tower International from its $7 billion, 2012-vintage Tactical Opportunities Fund into a continuation fund in a deal worth around $600 million of net asset value.

Warburg Pincus and PAI Partners are also working on single-asset deals set to be worth above $1 billion, as Secondaries Investor has reported.

Such deals remain a small part of the overall GP-led market: just 9 percent of complex secondaries deals last year involved single assets, according to data from Evercore.

Capiton and Park Hill did not respond to requests for comment.