Acquisition of a majority stake of Solabia by Astorg, with management team and TA Associates both reinvesting in the company
FR
Sycomore Corporate Finance acted as financial advisor to Solabia’s management team in the context of the acquisition of the company by Astorg alongside TA Associates.
Astorg, through their Astorg VIII fund, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Solabia Group (“Solabia” or “the Company”), a global biotechnology ingredient solutions provider, from TA Associates (“TA”), a leading global private equity firm, who will reinvest in the business.
Rationale
Founded in 1972, Solabia specializes in natural active ingredients for the cosmetics, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, as well as food and clinical testing industries. Leveraging advanced biotechnology capabilities – including fermentation, enzymatic synthesis, plant extraction, and green chemistry – Solabia develops high-performance ingredients that support precise formulation needs and enable differentiated product outcomes for its customers.
The Company holds leading positions across its market segments, driven by technological differentiation. Solabia’s active ingredients play a critical role in its customer formulations and end-products quality, contributing to high customer retention and long-term supplier integration. Solabia is positioned in dynamic and resilient end-markets and benefits from the continued penetration of natural ingredients in substitution to synthetic compounds.
Headquartered in Paris, Solabia operates 11 manufacturing sites and 8 R&D labs worldwide and employs over 900 staff. It is one of the few independent natural active ingredients platforms at scale combining deep technological expertise with strong global distribution capabilities.
Building on Solabia’s strong track record, marked by double-digit growth in the past five years, Astorg, TA and Solabia’s management team will focus on further accelerating international expansion – particularly in the US and Asia – and advancing the Company’s innovation roadmap, while continuing to benefit from strong market tailwinds.
Solabia is a vertically integrated manufacturer of natural active and functional ingredients for cosmetics, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Solabia is also a producer of culture media and detection kits for food testing, clinical, pharmaceutical and microbiology laboratories. With multiple production facilities and R&D centres, Solabia is a major player in the global cosmetics, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical ingredient markets, as well as food and clinical testing industries.
Astorg is a leading pan-European private equity firm with over €23 billion of assets under management. Astorg works with entrepreneurs and management teams to acquire market leading global companies headquartered in Europe or the US, providing them with the strategic guidance, governance and capital they need to achieve their growth goals. Enjoying a distinct entrepreneurial culture, a long-term shareholder perspective and a lean decision-making body, Astorg has valuable industry expertise in healthcare, software and technology, business services and technology-based industrial companies. Headquartered in Luxembourg, Astorg has offices in London, Paris, New York, Frankfurt, and Milan.
TA is a leading global private equity firm focused on scaling growth in profitable companies. Since 1968, TA has invested in more than 560 companies across its five target industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services. Leveraging its deep industry expertise and strategic resources, TA collaborates with management teams worldwide to help high-quality companies deliver lasting value. The firm has raised $65 billion in capital to date and has over 150 investment professionals across offices in Boston, Menlo Park, Austin, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong.