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CVC Taps Advisers to Exit French Clinic Chain Elsan

CVC Taps Advisers to Exit French Clinic Chain Elsan

CVC Capital Partners has picked advisers to help it weigh options for French private medical chain Elsan SAS, people familiar with the matter said.

The buyout firm is working with Morgan Stanley and Rothschild & Co. as it considers strategic alternatives including a sale or initial public offering of the business, the people said. Elsan could fetch about 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion), one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private.

Any transaction could add to the $87 billion of deals involving health-care companies this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. CVC could kick off a sale process after the summer, the people said. It is also still considering a potential listing of the business, and there’s no certainty the deliberations will lead to a transaction, the people said.

Representatives for CVC, Elsan, Morgan Stanley and Rothschild declined to comment.

CVC acquired Elsan in 2014 from private equity firms NiXEN Partners and 3i Group Plc. Bloomberg News reported in February that it was exploring options for Elsan, including a sale or initial public offering.

Demand for quality health care services has increased significantly since then amid the coronavirus pandemic, prompting sellers to look at bringing such assets to market. IK Investment Partners Ltd. is considering a possible disposal of French nursing-home operator Colisee Group, people familiar with the matter said in March.

Paris-based Elsan operates more than 120 clinics and private hospitals across France. The company employs 25,000 people, including 6,500 doctors, according to its website.

CVC has completed a 21.3 billion-euro ($24 billion) fundraising for its eighth flagship fund, in the private equity industry’s largest new pool of capital so far this year, Bloomberg News reported last week.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.