Paris, November 2nd, 2020
LBO France has completed the sale of FH Ortho, one of the leaders in orthopaedic implants in France, to the industrial group Olympus.
Founded in 1964, FH Ortho is a French company that develops, manufactures and markets orthopaedic implants and the associated instrumentation. The company offers a full range of orthopaedic implants, including hip and knee, and has developed high-performance products for the extremities (shoulders and feet) and sports medicine (ligaments). Its business is divided between France (which accounts for slightly more than half of its revenues) and the international market with a network of distributors in more than 30 countries as well as subsidiaries in the United States, the United Kingdom and Poland.
LBO France acquired FH Ortho in 2014 through its Hexagone III fund in a pool that included Crédit Mutuel Equity, Naxicap, BNP Paribas Développement and the Hermann family. Since then, the shareholders have supported the company in its transformation from a family-owned group to a true French leader in orthopaedics. The company grew by 50% during this period, with a significant growth in exports. In addition, despite a market backdrop disrupted by price pressure and increasing regulatory requirements, FH Ortho continued its proactive strategy of developing new products.
At the same time as this transaction, Spine Innovations, which groups together the spine prosthetics activities of the former FH Ortho, became independent under the aegis of a few of its current shareholders.
Arthur Bernardin, Managing Director of LBO France, said: “With the help of FH Ortho’s management team, we have been able to revitalise a very significant player in the best tradition of the French school of orthopaedics and achieve our various objectives: transforming a family-owned group, allowing it to reach a new level in terms of revenue and strengthen the company’s innovation and product development DNA. We are therefore particularly proud to pass on the baton to Olympus, who approached us directly and was won over by the growing demand for FH Ortho’s products in its markets. In addition, together with a few shareholders, we wanted to continue the adventure by remaining a shareholder in one of the Group’s most dynamic activities: spine prosthetics. Although it is a sideline of FH Ortho Group, spine prosthetics have grown by more than 40% per year since the beginning of our collaboration, driven by cutting edge lumbar and cervical prosthesis technology. We therefore wanted to provide this organisation with the resources it needed for its development.”
Jean-Marc Idier, President of FH Ortho, adds: “Over the course of the past six years, we have benefited from the experience and expertise of the LBO France teams, which have enabled us to take a major step forward in our history, in particular with respect to our investment plan and international expansion. Indeed, we have created a subsidiary in the United Kingdom and strengthened our presence in the United States, a key global market for orthopaedics. In addition to our products and teams, it is also this strong international presence that attracted our new shareholder, Olympus.”
Sandrine Carle, CEO of Spine Innovations, concludes: “This is a major milestone for Spine Innovations. The support of our financial shareholders combined with our independence will allow us to strengthen our position and aim for new achievements in the spine prosthetics market, relying, of course, on our unique and patented viscoelastic technology.”