The management, led by Marc Prikazsky, has reinforced its controlling position, supported by a core group of long-term investors, known as Ceva friends, who will ensure the continuing stable ownership of the group. The new investors in this block are:
- Téthys Invest of France, the investment holding of the Bettencourt-Meyers family, dedicated to direct long-term investments in entrepreneurial projects, in particular in the healthcare and education fields
- PSP Investments, one of Canada's largest pension investment managers, which has several European healthcare investments
- Mitsui & Co. of Japan, contributing access to its vital innovation in agriculture
- Klocke Gruppe of Germany, from whom Ceva acquired the IDT animal health business in 2019
They will join forces with long-standing French shareholders who will, once again, reinvest in this new round, in particular Sofiproteol and Merieux Equity Partners.
Alongside the management and Ceva friends, all historic minority investors have agreed to roll over a significant portion of their investment, to further participate in and contribute to Ceva’s future growth. Leading the round was Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore, with participation from EMZ and Sagard of France and the Chinese private equity fund HOPU Investments. Continental Grain Company will also join this group, enabling the company to benefit from its expertise and network in agribusiness, notably in North America.
Ceva has achieved sustained and profitable growth over the last 20 years, reaching over €1.2 billion in revenues and will now join the global top 5 animal health companies.
Management became majority shareholders in 2007 and since then has consistently reinforced its ownership, thanks to Ceva’s outstanding performance and the trust of its financial partners. Ceva recently launched its latest Ambition 2025 business plan and will use the strong foundation of this new international shareholder base to continue its exponential growth and secure the long-term, independent future of the group.
Commenting on the changes, Group Chairman & CEO Dr. Marc Prikazsky said: “I am delighted [for our employees and current shareholders] that we managed to successfully deliver returns to all our stakeholders. As we move to the next phase of our development, we are confident that we now have the best possible partners around the table and everything within our hands to continue our remarkable journey. We also would like to thank our Advisors and their teams for their support, notably Isabelle Xoual (Lazard), David Aknin (Weil, Gotshal & Manges) and Hervé Couffin (Callisto).”
February 4, 2020 - Ceva Santé Animale