The sale of HTL, a French producer of hyaluronic acid, has been granted to Montagu and Partners Group for roughly €1.2 billion, according to sources. The buyers are working on a financing from the private credit arm of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, market sources said, which comprises a 7x-levered covenant-lite unitranche priced at 5.5% and a 2x payment-in-kind, or PIK, facility priced at roughly 8.5%.
The company was marketed off EBITDA of €50 million to €52 million.
The sale process was one of the most competitive in the market, according to sources, with incumbent lenders and potential new lenders jostling for the financing, which also explains the very competitive terms offered by lenders.
Bridgepoint acquired HTL in 2018, financed with a club unitranche of approximately €230 million from Barings, Arcmont, Idinvest and Bridgepoint Credit.
HTL is based in Fougères, France, and specializes in the manufacturing and purification of hyaluronic acid. It has since diversified into research and development, covering other biological polymers for the pharmaceutical and medical fields.
