Palex is the leading Spanish distributor of MedTech equipment and solutions. The company offers a wide product portfolio, primarily distributed under exclusivity contracts, to public and private hospitals.

Objective

Apheon invested in Palex aiming to further build upon the company’s strong positioning as the leading high value-added distributor of MedTech equipment and solutions in Iberia. We identified such market as structurally attractive for nationwide distributors, and, therefore, with ample room for further organic growth and consolidation. In addition, the company has a unique business model combining product diversification, sector-leading service, and continuous R&D. Palex’s high-quality, visionary and extraordinarily committed management team have been a key success factor, and, as such, we worked in creating a trustful and powerful partnership well before investing that still continues today. During our tenure, Palex entered new attractive niches through 8 acquisitions and enhanced its product portfolio from new OEMs. The company also expanded internationally through the transformational acquisition of Gada in Italy, becoming the clear MedTech distribution platform in Southern Europe.

ENTRY / EXIT
Feb 2020
 / 
Dec 2023
TREND

Increasing Market Cycle Risk; Demographics, Economic Development & Aging population; Rising Healthcare Cost

COUNTRY

Spain

SECTOR

Healthcare; Services

Key Achievements at Exit

SALES
€384m
EMPLOYEES
800

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Our manifesto: contributing to the development of sustainable finance

Sustainability generates long-term and higher value

Apheon’s ambition is to contribute to the development of sustainable finance by placing sustainability at the core of its strategy and demonstrating by example that it delivers higher and better value for portfolio companies and investors.
 
We are convinced that businesses that respect the planet, that look after their employees and that support their communities will in turn attract the best talent, differentiate themselves from their competition and ultimately emerge as the strongest in the future.

A holistic and collective approach

To succeed with this strategy, Apheon believes a holistic and collective approach is fundamental.

Holistic: it is essential that all aspects of ESG are equally and continuously supported. This is why we are active at every stage of the investment cycle by applying proprietarily developed methodologies and initiatives which are built on 5 priorities covering the broad ESG spectrum:

  • Sustainable revenues (strategy): increasing, when applicable, the share of revenues which directly benefit the environment and/or society

  • Carbon (environment): reducing emissions

  • Talent (social): creating a positive working environment which will attract, develop and retain the best talent

  • Youth, diversity and inclusion (societal): fostering a more inclusive society

  • Transparency (governance): reporting on metrics transparently, and being transparent on potential obstacles
Collective: we believe that it is only through collective action that we can create significant impact. This is why it is our intention to pull together Apheon’s entire ecosystem to undertake our ESG initiatives. This includes mobilizing our employees, portfolio companies, investors, external experts, charitable organizations, public institutions and peers. At this time of global transition, we believe that sustainable finance plays a key role in advancing towards a sustainable planet and society. Financial players, in particular private equity firms such as Apheon, are in a position to drive forward action by leveraging their business model of transforming companies. Apheon is keen to play such role and to move forward every day with humility but also conviction.