Spain a ‘value destination’ for mid-market investors; Wise Equity to acquire E-Pharma Trento
Good morning, Nina Lindholm here with the Europe Wire from the London newsroom.
We start the week in Spain, where family-owned businesses ready to scale and an inflow of talent have created opportunities in the Spanish mid-market, drawing private equity interest. PE Hub spoke to several sources, including Christopher Masek, CEO of IK Partners, and Valero Domingo, partner at Oakley Capital, to get the sponsor view on why Spain stands out among other European economies and to learn where the dealmaking opportunities in the country are.
We stay in southern Europe to finish. Wise Equity announced on Friday it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in E-Pharma Trento, a contract development and manufacturing organization in the consumer health pharmaceutical and nutraceutical markets.
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Spain may be one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world, but it’s not just holidaymakers seeking the Spanish sun – dealmakers have been busy picking up businesses in the country. Private equity firms are opening offices in major Spanish cities and appointing staff to oversee investment activities in Spain and wider Iberia.
Oakley Capital made a bet on Spanish founders that has paid off. In 2022, the firm acquired legaltech business vLex, a company founded in Barcelona in 2000 by Lluis and Angel Faus. Only three years later, it sold vLex to strategic buyer Clio for $1 billion, with Lluis and Angel still in place as CEO and CTO, respectively. The exit won PE Hub’s Mid-Cap Europe Deal of the Year Award.
Opportunities have risen beyond homegrown founders. “In recent years, we have seen a lot of inflow of talent into the region,” Oakley’s Domingo told PE Hub. “That has generated an ecosystem of entrepreneurs and a capital market that is fueling the Spanish economy.”
Several factors have drawn incomers, said Madrid-based Domingo. “We have not been in the recent energy or political crises,” he said. “If we’re in the news, it’s for news such as soccer or a tourism surge – and that’s pretty positive.”
The private equity ecosystem is another reason why investors look at the region. Southern Europe in general is a “value destination,” where the lack of mega-funds has increased accessibility for mid-market investors, said Connor Kohlenberg, a partner at consultants West Monroe.
“They can find really good assets with good products [and] services at a competitive price that make a great platform for a buy-and-build – something we know PE loves,” he added.
International funds have been busy in Spain. They contributed 59 percent of total investment volume in the first half of the year, according to SpainCap, a Spanish private equity and venture capital association.
The exit market has been particularly strong, despite a wider slowdown in private equity sales. Divestments were €3.2 billion in H1, said SpainCap, up two-thirds on the first half of last year and the highest level on record. That came despite deal numbers being stable year-on-year at 574 and investments dropping 14 percent to €3.8 billion over the period. In more positive news, domestic fundraising was €2.3 billion, up 6.3 percent year-on-year and the best half-year figure since SpainCap began tracking the data in 2009 – suggesting that the record divestments are finding their way back into the PE ecosystem.
There is a “deep pool” of family-owned businesses across Iberia, Masek at IK Partners told PE Hub.
“Many of Iberia’s strongest companies have that family-owned heritage and a number are now approaching succession decisions or looking for external support to professionalize, scale and expand internationally.”
To learn about the key considerations when transacting with Spanish businesses and what the hottest sectors in the country are, check out the full feature.
Rare products
Moving over to Italy, where Wise Equity announced on Friday it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in E-Pharma Trento, a consumer health pharmaceutical and nutraceutical contract development and manufacturing organization.
Existing shareholder Unifarm, a holding company for pharmaceutical wholesale distribution services in Italy, will retain a minority stake in the company.
The company closed 2025 with revenues of more than €55 million, around 45 percent of which were generated outside Italy, according to a press statement.
E-Pharma Trento specializes in effervescent and soluble pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. Its portfolio consists of effervescent tablets and granules, soluble powders and orodispersible forms, all of which it manufactures at its two plants in Trento, which have a combined capacity of around 900 million units per year.
Nutraceuticals are over-the-counter supplements that are marketed for nutritional value and health benefits. Roughly one third of E-Pharma Trento’s revenues come from the sector, where effervescent and soluble products are “still comparatively rare,” the statement said.
For more on nutraceuticals, check out this listicle on dietary supplements, as well as this feature exploring dealmaking trends in the vitamins, minerals and supplements segment.
That’s all from me this morning. Rafael Canton will cover for MK Flynn today on the US Wire, and Craig McGlashan will be on Europe duty tomorrow.
Cheers,
Nina
