Astorg takes majority stake in Avania

Private equity firm Astorg has acquired a majority stake in Avania, a Netherlands-based global clinical contract research organisation dedicated to medical technology, from primary buyout firm Kester Capital, which intends to retain a minority stake.
Astorg’s Mid-Cap fund, alongside Kester, will support Avania’s management’s plans to accelerate the company’s development, organically and through M&A.
Kester stated that the sale of Avania will deliver a return of more than 8x and is the fifth consecutive exit for the firm to achieve a return of over 3x. The firm’s current fund, Kester Capital II, closed above target at its hard cap of £90 million in August 2020.
Kester Capital facilitated the succession of Avania’s founders by recruiting a new senior leadership team led by Sapna Hornyak, and the company grew through a combination of organic investment and strategic acquisitions, Since the original investment by Kester in 2016, EBITDA has grown more than five times to over €10 million in the current year.
Today, Avania covers the full regulatory life cycle across a broad range of therapeutic areas. With eight offices across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, Avania serves 300 medical device OEMs of different sizes offering clinical trial management, biostatistics, regulatory consulting, data analytics, medical writing and reimbursement.