Ardian, the independent private investment company, has signed an agreement with 3i Infrastructure to sell its stake in Ionisos, a leading international provider of cold sterilization services to the medical, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.
Established in 1993 in Civrieux, France, Ionisos is the third-largest cold sterilization provider globally and operates a network of 11 plants in Europe with market leading positions in the French and Spanish markets.
The need for pharmaceutical products and medical instruments and the associated sterilization services is driven by attractive market fundamentals and noncyclical market drivers, including an aging population in Western Europe, a growing demand for medical services increasingly requiring disposal medical supplies, as well as strong regulation on sterilization of medical and pharmaceutical products.
Since Ardian Expansion acquired a stake in July 2016, the company's turnover has almost doubled. Ionisos has experienced strong organic growth and has implemented a dynamic external growth strategy over the past three years, through five acquisitions in five European countries — Germany, Spain, Estonia, France and Italy.
