PE Tech Report

NEWSLETTER

Like this article?

Sign up to our free newsletter

Weil advises bd-capital on first-time fundraise and the acquisition of Symprove Holdings Limited

International law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges has advised bd-capital on its preliminary fundraise to acquire Symprove Holdings Limited (Symprove), a manufacturer and distributer of food supplements. Launched to the public in 2010, Symprove is an innovative probiotic containing live, multi-strain bacteria, with a unique water-based delivery system which actively maintains gut health and the gut microbiome.

 
The Weil team was led by corporate partner Jonathan Wood and private funds partner James Bromley, working alongside corporate associates, Kirstin Fyffe, Dominika Javornicka and Lottie Hudson, private funds counsel, Marloes Zaman with support from associate, Imaan Gangi, and private funds tax partner Aron Joy, and associate Daniella Abel.
 
Founder and Chairman of Symprove, Barry Smith, has praised bd-capital for being an “exceptional partner” expected to bring a “huge level of expertise and experience” to the business during the next phase of growth whilst safeguarding its heritage and brand integrity. Richard Baker, Managing Partner and co-Founder of bd-capital, praises Symprove with having not only “the opportunity for significant future growth, but the potential to change the lives of millions of people living with conditions and symptoms that, today, have very limited treatment options”. Scientific research has uncovered how the balance of bacteria in the microbiome not only affects gut health but also wider conditions including Parkinson’s, dementia, IBS, IBD, mood and mental health.
 
The fundraising was completed entirely ‘virtually’ during the COVID-19 lockdown and attracted institutional investors from as far afield as the USA and Australia. Weil’s private funds and deal execution practices worked in seamless partnership with the bd-capital team to deliver on the transaction despite the backdrop of the ongoing global pandemic. Weil was excited to partner with bd-capital on this maiden deal which marks a catalytic moment in the evolution of bd-capital – the investment firm set up in 2019 by former Whitbread Chairman, Richard Baker and former investment partner at Advent International, Andy Dawson.
 
Andy Dawson says: “Having Jonathan and James, along with Weil’s wider multi-disciplinary teams, in partnership with us from the inception of bd-capital has been superb. Their strategic approach and commercial advice across all aspects of our business, culminating most recently in their assistance on the Symprove acquisition and associated fundraising, has been instrumental in launching bd-capital.”
 

Like this article? Sign up to our free newsletter

MOST POPULAR

FURTHER READING

Featured