EQT is pleased to announce that EQT Mid Market Europe (“EQT Private Equity”), together with its co-shareholders, have agreed to sell Ellab (“Ellab” or the “Company”) to Novo Holdings, which is responsible for managing the assets and wealth of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, one of the world’s largest philanthropic enterprise foundations.
Headquartered in Hillerød, Denmark, Ellab provides validation and monitoring solutions and services for biotech and pharmaceutical processes. Its solutions and services measure and document parameters such as temperature, pressure, and carbon dioxide. These help clients to ensure consumer safety and regulatory compliance while reducing time to market and the risk of product loss.
EQT Private Equity acquired Ellab in September 2019 with a vision to accelerate the Company’s growth journey by solidifying its core offering within validation solutions, while expanding into monitoring solutions and field services & consulting. Today, Ellab has transformed into a full solution provider, while tripling its revenues, EBITDA and employee base. It counts all the top 20 biotech companies and all the top 40 pharmaceutical companies globally as clients.
During EQT Private Equity’s ownership, Ellab shifted its customer focus towards high-growth industries such as biotech, cell & gene therapies, and contract development & manufacturing organizations. At the same time, it invested significantly in research & development, digitalization and personnel to strengthen the organization, while acquiring 15 companies around the globe. The Company has also defined a clear sustainability strategy, for instance by committing to the Science Based Targets initiative that requires Ellab to set greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in line with the 1.5° pathway described in the Paris Agreement.
Rikke Kjær Nielsen, Partner within EQT Private Equity’s Advisory Team, said, “Ellab’s solutions play a vital role in ensuring accuracy and compliance in its clients’ biotech and pharmaceutical processes, which is key for these companies. This was true when we first invested in Ellab and remains the case today. The difference now is the scale and flexibility that Ellab offers, as it has transformed into a full-suite provider of validation and monitoring solutions and services. It has been a privilege to partner with the entire Ellab management team, who have built a company with a strong culture and customer focus, dedication to innovation and commitment to consumer safety. We believe Novo Holdings is a great partner for the next stage of Ellab’s growth journey and we wish them all the best in the future.”
Ludvig Enlund, CEO of Ellab, said “With EQT Private Equity’s support, Ellab has transformed into a truly leading global player with best-in-class software and hardware for validation and monitoring for the life sciences industry, and today also holds a strong position within field services & consulting. We are grateful for the partnership and now look forward to continuing our journey with Novo Holdings.”
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. Closing of the transaction is expected in Q3 2023.