ICG writes €500m cheque for medical single-asset deal

ICG Strategic Equity has emerged as lead backer of one of the largest GP-led deals to take place in Europe this year, Secondaries Investor has learned.

Limited partners in the 2013-vintage CapVest Equity Partners III were given the opportunity to sell their holdings in nuclear medicine company Curium Pharma or roll into a continuation vehicle, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The continuation fund closed on €1.2 billion, €500 million of which was underwritten by ICG, according to one of the sources. Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Pantheon also underwrote part of  the deal.

Secondaries Investor understands that pricing was “par/par-plus” against an undisclosed reference date.

A vehicle named CapVest Strategic Opportunities, targeting $1.08 billion, was registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 30 October. Evercore is listed as placement agent.

London-based mid-market firm CapVest put Curium up for sale in January before pulling the process in March, Bloomberg reported. Nordic Capital, Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners were final bidders for what one London-based secondaries buyer described as “a cream-of-the-crop” asset.

“Some of the biggest names in private equity wanted this [asset] but CapVest decided when covid hit that they would rather keep it,” they added. “It’s a great demonstration of what the secondaries market and GP-led technology can do.”

Paris-headquartered Curium produces nuclear tracers for diagnostic imaging tools, according to its website.The deal puts the firm’s enterprise value at €3 billion.

CapVest Equity Partners III raised €450 million against a target of €400 million by final close in 2014, according to PEI data. LPs include State of Wisconsin Investment Board, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company and CNP Assurances.

Last month, Secondaries Investor reported that ICG had brought forward the launch of its next flagship GP-led secondaries fund by two years due to faster-than-expected deployment. Strategic Equity IV launched in early November, Benoît Durteste, the firm’s chief investment officer and chief executive, said on a half-yearly earnings call.

Among the deals ICG has backed this year are single-asset restructurings on Clearlake Capital portfolio company Ivanti and Providence Equity Partners’ HSE24 Multichannel GmbH, a home-shopping channel, Secondaries Investor reported.

ICG, CapVest, Evercore and Goldman declined to comment. Pantheon did not respond to a request for comment.