GHO Capital Partners, a European specialist investor in global healthcare, and Partners Group, a global private markets firm, have made a new investment in GHO portfolio company Sterling Pharma Solutions, a global contract development and manufacturing organisation.
GHO Capital Partners (GHO), a European specialist investor in global healthcare, and Partners Group, a global private markets firm, have made a new investment in GHO portfolio company Sterling Pharma Solutions (Sterling), a global contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO).
Sterling provides a full range of CDMO services across the lifecycle of new, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), and is a specialist in the early-stage development of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), a fast-growing class of cancer treatments.
Since partnering with GHO in 2019, Sterling has grown rapidly, both organically and through acquisition, transforming from a single-site UK CDMO to a global full-service complex small molecule API platform with differentiated chemistry capabilities. Sterling has tripled in revenues and quadrupled its earnings following strategically accretive M&A focused on capacity expansion, capability development, and a strategically relevant geographical footprint.
The deal sees Partners Group acquire a significant minority stake, bringing a wealth of international healthcare expertise to the shareholder group. GHO will remain Sterling’s majority shareholder and the current management team will continue to lead the company. The new investment from GHO is supported by a consortium of investors, led by funds managed by AlpInvest Partners, a subsidiary of global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG), and Pantheon.
Sterling was advised by Jefferies International Ltd as financial advisor, Macfarlanes LLP as legal advisor, LEK Consulting LLP as commercial advisor, Deloitte LLP as finance, tax, and responsible investing due diligence advisor, and ERM as environmental advisor.
GHO was advised by Jefferies International Ltd as secondaries advisor, Slaughter and May and Kirkland & Ellis International LLP as legal advisors, and Deloitte LLP as structuring advisor.
Partners Group was advised by Ropes & Gray International LLP as legal advisor, Ernst & Young AG as commercial advisor, PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd as financial, tax, and structuring advisor, Alvarez & Marsal Europe LLP as operations advisor, and ERM as environmental advisor.
