Houlihan Lokey Advises Proteros Biostructures
Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Proteros Biostructures GmbH (Proteros), a leading Germany-based, founder-led contract research organization focused on early-stage drug discovery has received a minority investment from Inflexion, a leading middle-market private equity firm investing in high-growth, entrepreneurial businesses, by way of partnership capital funding. The transaction closed on 20 February 2023.
Based in Munich, Germany and with roots to Nobel Prize-winning science, Proteros is a privately held company with expertise in structure-based drug discovery, powered by a cutting-edge discovery engine tailored to unlock even the most technically challenging disease-relevant drug targets. The company’s scientific rigor supports clients by solving challenges at their initial drug discovery stages and accelerating their discovery projects. Proteros supports many of the world’s top 20 largest pharmaceutical companies and more than 200 pharmaceutical and biotech partners in the U.S., Europe, and Japan in reaching the right research results faster.
With the support of Inflexion as a minority investor, Proteros aims to further strengthen the company’s footprint in the U.S., both organically and through acquisition, drive sustainable growth across all of its business units such as, Cryo-EM, fit-for-purpose Biologics and Proteins, as well as integrated Discovery Solutions services, and further strengthen overall value propositions for its 200 biotech and pharma customers, as a premium discovery provider for complex projects and targets, which Proteros calls "high hanging fruits". Founder and CEO Torsten Neuefeind will continue to lead the company and retains the majority shareholding in Proteros.
Torsten Neuefeind, founder and CEO of Proteros, said: "I am thrilled to have Inflexion on board as a partner. Their track record in backing high-growth businesses combined with their life sciences experience gives me great conviction they are well-placed to support Proteros in its further growth trajectory."
Inflexion is a leading middle-market private equity firm that works in partnership with ambitious management teams of high-growth, entrepreneurial businesses to accelerate sustainable growth. Inflexion’s flexible approach allows it to back both majority and minority investments, typically investing £10 million to £400 million of equity in each deal.
With bespoke teams and dedicated capital, Inflexion’s funds invest across a variety of sectors, from offices in London, Manchester, and Amsterdam. Inflexion helps businesses achieve the next stage of growth through M&A, international expansion, digital enhancement, talent development, commercial strategy, sustainability focus, and access to Inflexion’s global network. It also benefits from a local presence in Boston, São Paulo, and Shanghai dedicated to portfolio development, enabling investee companies to benefit from privileged access to these fast-growth markets.
Funds advised by Inflexion Private Equity Partners LLP have funds under management of approximately £7.1 billion.
David Whileman, Head of Partnership Capital at Inflexion, commented, “The founders are visionaries in their field, and we are delighted to marry our healthcare expertise and unique minority capital offering to support the further international growth and development of Proteros.”
Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to the company and assisted in marketing, structuring, and negotiating the transaction.
This transaction further highlights Houlihan Lokey’s deep sector expertise in the outsourced drug discovery space with a strong pan-European coverage of the broader healthcare sector.
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