Cobalt has advised the INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund, the largest private equity investment fund in the Baltics, on the acquisition of its wholly-owned subsidiary BSGF Sanus of a 70% stake in the InMedica health care clinics chain from the Lithuania SME Fund. TGS Baltic advised the sellers on the deal, and financial terms were not disclosed.
Launched in June of 2018, the INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund is managed by INVL Asset Management, one of Lithuania’s leading asset management companies. According to Cobalt, "the fund seeks to invest in medium-size companies with an attractive risk-return ratio, providing them with capital for further growth. In its investments, the fund will focus on taking controlling or significant minority stakes and will play an active role in the management of target companies, aiming to significantly increase their value over the long term. The fund will seek to form a diversified portfolio of Baltic Sea region companies and will focus on growth capital, buyout, and 'buy and build' investments. [it] will make investments of EUR 10 million to EUR 30 million in mature companies that can compete on global markets and have big potential for growth in value."
Lithuania SME Fund is a growth capital fund organized by BaltCap in 2010 as a part of the JEREMIE initiative in Lithuania. And InMedica is an 18-clinic chain of health care institutions which provides services of family and specialized doctors, odontology, and other health care services. According to non-audited data, in 2018 the company’s revenue grew by 39 percent compared to the previous year and amounted to EUR 9.6 million (in 2017, EUR 6.9 million).
“We’re pleased to have closed the first acquisition of a fund portfolio company and do believe that working together with its management we are in a position to create a leading company in the private health care sector with potential to grow not only on a national but also a regional Baltic scale,” said Deimante Korsakaite, the executive partner of the INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund.
"As the country’s economy and people’s income grow, we see an increasing need for quality medical services with instant access," said Nerijus Drobavicius, an INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund partner and the director of BSGF Sanus. "Drawing on our experience developing promising businesses, we’ll seek to take the company to an even higher qualitative level, thus strengthening its position in this sector even more."
The Cobalt team is led by Partner Elijus Burgis and Senior Associate Inga Mazvilaite and includes Head of Tax Rokas Daugela, Head of Competition Rasa Zasciurinskaite, and Associate Lawyers Lukas Pultarazinskas and Samanta Sereikaite.
TGS Baltic's team consisted of Executive Partner Marius Matonis, Partner Aurimas Pauliukevicius, Junior Associate Giedrius Svidras, and Trainee Paulius Dabulskis. The firm's team also represented remaining shareholder Litgaja in negotiations related to its entrance into a shareholders’ agreement with the buyer.