Perwyn, a pan-European growth oriented private equity investor, is delighted to announce that it has agreed to acquire European Sperm Bank (“ESB”) from Axcel in a transaction which is expected to close in Q3 2022.
Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, ESB has helped thousands of women and couples in more than 90 countries across the world make their dream of a family come true, as a leading provider of donor sperm and related fertility services. Founded in 2004, ESB has built an extensive and diverse donor bank, supported by a strong brand and a reputation rooted in the highest ethical and customer service standards throughout the fertility journey.
Perwyn will invest behind the ESB management team and employees to further expand ESB’s donor bank, its geographic coverage and its broader range of fertility services as well as extending ESB’s industry-leading quality, compliance and technology. Because of its unique funding model, the investment team at Perwyn will focus 100% of its time and energy on helping ESB achieve its ambitious international growth plans.
Martin le Huray, Partner at Perwyn commented: “We are excited to partner with the ESB team and to support them in their mission to help women and couples across the world make their dream of a family come true. Already one of the largest donor banks in the world, we will be investing to support an exciting range of growth opportunities, including expanding ESB’s bank, its geographic reach and its broader range of fertility services, whilst further enhancing its leading reputation for quality and customer service. We look forward to working with Annemette and the team.“
Annemette Arndal-Lauritzen, CEO of ESB, said: “We are grateful to Axcel for all its support in the last three years, successfully transforming ESB into a true market leader with an agile organisation and attractive customer offering, including long-term support of families and donor children. We are excited to be joining forces with Perwyn, with their experience of supporting exceptional companies achieve ambitious goals on a global scale, and to working with the Perwyn team to fulfil ESB’s great potential.”
Andrew Wynn, Managing Partner of Perwyn, commented: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to invest alongside management into ESB and look forward to supporting the company with the next phase of its expansion plans. This investment is perfectly aligned with Perwyn’s strategy focused on high-growth, mid-market buyouts in the UK & Europe, with the healthcare space being one of our four core sector verticals. We are confident that our entrepreneurial and growth-oriented investment team, backed up by a substantial permanent capital base, will enable Perwyn to act as a highly engaged and supportive partner for growth to ESB in the years ahead.”
Perwyn were advised by Lincoln International, Beyond Advisors, L.E.K., Pearson + Partners, Deloitte, Bech-Bruun, Eversheds, Tatsu Partners and Lockton.
June 2022