• Igenomix is the worldwide leader in reproductive genetics and women’s health
• In 2019 Charme agreed to reinvest, as part of its sale to EQT, in a minority stake of the company to continue to support its development and international growth
• During its second stage of ownership, Igenomix has continued to grow rapidly taking advantage of multiple opportunities where Charme has been instrumental thanks to its knowledge of the company, its operations and management team

Charme Capital Partners (“Charme”), the pan-European mid-market private equity firm, has announced today that Charme III, its €650m buyout fund and EQT Private Equity (“EQT”), the publicly traded global investment firm founded by the Wallenberg family in the 90’s, have reached an agreement with Vitrolife, the Swedish publicly traded reproductive health company, to sell Igenomix. As part of the transaction Igenomix’s shareholders will retain a minority shareholder stake in Vitrolife.

Charme first invested in Igenomix in 2016 and since then it has actively worked together with the CEO David Jimenez and the R&D team composed of 25 top class scientists and researchers led by Professor Carlos Simon. In 2019 as part of the sale to EQT, Charme reinvested in a minority interest to continue supporting the development of the company with further international growth.

Leveraging its sector and company knowledge, Charme was instrumental in guiding the company through multiple growth opportunities to expand into new and attractive markets such as the establishment of Igenomix’s operations in China. The active involvement of Charme in this second stage of ownership, has led to a 19% compounded annual growth rate of revenues and a 17% compounded growth rate of EBITDA.

The combination of Igenomix and Vitrolife will create a global leader in the reproductive health space.

David Jimenez, Chief Executive Officer of Igenomix, said:

“Igenomix has been on a fantastic journey with EQT and Charme Capital Partners as owners. We are excited to embark on a new journey together with Vitrolife which will help us to further improve delivery of our mission to provide personalized genetic information to patients globally and further improve clinical practices in infertility, women’s health and rare diseases”.

Charme Capital Partners (“Charme”), the pan-European mid-market private equity firm, has announced today that Charme III, its €650m buyout fund, has reached an agreement to invest in a minority stake in Igenomix along with EQT, the global investment firm founded by the Wallenberg family in the 90’s with more than 50 billion of commitments raised since inception.

Charme reached an agreement to sell its stake in Igenomix to EQT in March 2019 and will continue to support the development of the company in this next phase of growth through an active collaboration with EQT. Charme will leverage its knowledge of the sector, the company and its operations to support EQT in further expanding the company internationally.

This new investment in Igenomix, demonstrates Charme’s flexibility in its investment approach as well as the will to become long term partners of companies, founders and management teams.

• Igenomix is one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies with a proprietary portfolio of products and therapies focused on women’s health and reproductive genetics
• Since 2016, Charme Capital Partners has successfully partnered with management actively supporting Igenomix’s international expansion by creating a global platform of labs in leading markets; further invested and developed its world-leading R&D function; and launched new and innovative proprietary products
• Charme is a strong believer in the industry and is currently working in order to recommit in a broader transaction also involving a minority stake in Igenomix that will be announced in the next weeks

Charme Capital Partners (“Charme”), the pan-European mid-market private equity firm, has announced today that Charme III, its €650m buyout fund, has reached an agreement to sell a majority stake in Igenomix to EQT, the global investment firm founded by the Wallenberg family in the 90’s with more than 50 billion of commitments raised since inception. Igenomix is the leading global provider of woman health and reproductive genetic services. As part of the transaction, Igenomix’s senior management will reinvest in the company, in order to continue to support its long-term growth and success.

Igenomix, headquartered in Valencia, Spain, uses the most advanced technology to offer pioneering genetic testing services in reproductive medicine. It works closely with IVF (In-Vitro-Fertilization) clinics around the world to help increase the chances of successful pregnancies and aid medical professionals in delivering healthier babies. Today, Igenomix helps patients across the globe from 15 advanced laboratories in 13 different countries and has multiple promising new patents currently undergoing pre-clinical studies.

Charme first invested in Igenomix in 2016 and since then it has actively worked together with the CEO David Jimenez and the R&D team composed of 25 top class scientists and researchers led by Professor Carlos Simon.

Charme, leveraging on its 15-year track record of transforming mid-market companies into global leaders, actively worked with the management to expand Igenomix internationally by strengthening its market position in the US and expanding into several new markets such as the UK, Japan, Canada, Argentina, Italy, Turkey, and Kuwait; and widening its product offering through the launch of innovative proprietary new genetic tests.

During its ownership period, Charme has heavily invested to support the management team’s continued development of Igenomix’s world-class R&D function and the formation of joint R&D efforts with leading universities, including Stanford, Harvard and Baylor.

This active ownership model, typical of the Charme Funds, led to a 54% compound annual growth rate of revenues since 2015, and to a 53% compound annual growth rate of EBITDA.

Matteo di Montezemolo, Founder and Managing Partner of Charme Capital Partners, commented: 

“Igenomix growth story is in line with the long standing track record of the Charme Funds in supporting mid-market local companies in becoming global leaders in their respective markets and confirms, once again, the consistency of Charme’s operating model. I would like to personally thank, also on behalf of all Charme III investors, Professor Carlos Simon, David Jimenez and the full Igenomix team for their extraordinary results, that I am sure will further improve over the next years.”

Francisco Churtichaga, Partner at Charme Capital Partners, said: 

“Igenomix has been an incredible growth story and it has been a pleasure to help the founders internationalise the business and take the company to the next level. When we first invested in Igenomix we were excited by the potential of such a high-growth, technology-driven business and we look forward to continuing to support EQT, the company and its talented management team.”

David Jimenez, Chief Executive Officer of Igenomix, said: 

“Charme’s resources, industry experience and strategic vision have been a differentiating factor during the company’s period of high growth over the past few years. We would like to thank their team for all their help and we look forward that they will continue to back Igenomix’s continued development as we enter the next phase of our journey.”

• Igenomix is one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies focused on reproductive genetic testing
• Charme Capital Partners’ investment will help accelerate Igenomix’s internationalisation, expand the company’s world-leading R&D functions, and broaden the scope of its genetic testing services
• Investment is the first made by Charme III, a pan-European mid-market buyout fund

Madrid/London/Milan, 19 July 2016: Charme Capital Partners (“CCP”), the pan-European mid-market private equity firm, has announced that Charme III has reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Igenomix, the leading provider of genetic testing services for reproductive health patients and clinics. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the coming weeks.

Igenomix was spun out from one of the world’s largest and most successful in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) clinics, the Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad (IVI), in 2011 and offers pioneering genetic testing services in reproductive medicine. It works closely with IVF clinics around the world to help increase the chances of successful pregnancies and aid medical professionals in delivering healthier babies.

Headquartered in Spain, Igenomix employs over 100 people across eight advanced specialist laboratories worldwide, in Spain (Valencia), USA (New York, Miami, and Los Angeles), India (New Delhi), Brazil (Sao Paulo), UAE (Dubai) and Mexico (Mexico City).

Igenomix will retain its existing management team led by David Jimenez as CEO and Dr. Carlos Simon as CSO, who will reinvest in the deal. CCP’s investment will enable the company to accelerate its internationalisation across developed and developing markets, as these mature and adopt genetic testing as a way of improving pregnancy rates; expand its world-leading R&D capabilities that aim to introduce breakthrough innovations in genetics in reproductive medicine; and support the broadening of its scope of genetic testing services.

The investment in Igenomix is the first made by Charme III, and the first from CCP’s recently opened office in Madrid.

Francisco Churtichaga and Tommaso Beolchini, Partners at Charme Capital Partners, commented:

“Igenomix is enjoying accelerated growth exceeding 50% per annum and will approach €30m sales in 2016, so it represented a great opportunity to invest in a leading national champion and contribute to its global expansion. We look forward to working with the company, with its world-class management team and unique proprietary know-how, to help deliver on its excellent growth potential in new markets such as China and Russia, among others.”

Carlos Simón, Chief Science Officer of Igenomix, said:

“Today, Igenomix is the leading research-driven genetic testing company focused in IVF. Charme will bring to us their network, strategic vision and resources to further expand our R&D program and international presence.”

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About Igenomix

Igenomix was created in 2011 when it was spun out from Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad (IVI). Today it is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced services in reproductive genetics, operating from eight laboratories worldwide. Its constant efforts in R&D, led by Prof. Dr. Carlos Simón (the 2011 Jaime I award-winner for Clinical Research), enable Igenomix to create and develop specific tools to support professionals in the reproductive medicine field. Specialist services offered include PGS (Pre-Implantation Genetic Screening), NACE (Non-invasive Prenatal Test); CGT (Carrier Genetic Test); PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis) and ERA (Endometrial Receptivity Array).

Visit: www.Igenomix.com

About Charme Capital Partners

Charme Capital Partners is based in London, Milan and Madrid, and is the manager of the Charme Funds, founded in 2003 by Luca and Matteo di Montezemolo and backed by a unique combination of institutional LPs and prominent global industrialists. Since inception, the Charme Funds have raised over €1bn and invested with a pan-European approach in companies with strong growth and internationalisation prospects.

Charme III was launched in 2015 with a pan-European investment strategy focused on mid-market investments across a range of business sectors in Europe, with a particular focus on UK, Spain and Italy. It targets fast growing mid-market companies with an enterprise value of €100mn to €500mn, where it can partner with shareholders and management teams to unlock potential and deliver transformational growth, both organically and through M&A. This will allow companies to reinforce their market positioning and in many cases to expand internationally.

The main investments of the Charme Funds include in luxury goods Poltrona Frau Group (global leader in high-end design furniture) in technology Octo Telematics (world leader in insurance telematics) and in healthcare Bellco (leading provider of blood purification devices).

Visit: www.charmecapitalpartners.com