D’Ieteren Group acquires a 40% shareholding in TVH Parts

Facts

Involved firms and advisors buy side: 
Financial & tax: Deloitte Belgium 
Legal: Freshfields 
Advisor: Bank of America 
Operational: Alix Partners 
Commercial: Roland Berger 
Environmental: Ramboll  

Involved firms and advisors target:  
Financial: EY Belgium  
Legal: Allen & Overy  
Advisor: J.P. Morgan  

Involved firms and advisors sell side: 
see target 

Pitch

Brief description deal / Deal outline:
D’Ieteren Group has acquired a 40% stake in TVH Parts from the Vanhalst family and agreed on a partnership with the Thermote family to further support the development of the company over the long term. TVH Parts, headquartered in Waregem (Belgium), was created more than 50 years ago, and has become the global independent leader for aftermarket parts related to material handling, construction & industrial, and agricultural equipment. It has continuously expanded its customer proposition and geographical presence and has today 81 branches in 26 countries across all continents, fulfilling more than 17.000 orders a day thanks to its 4.500 employees. The company has built a considerable amount of data over the years which together with its exceptional logistics capabilities, unmatched product availability, and multiple efficient e-commerce platforms are at the center of its competitive positioning.  

The investment in TVH Parts is a new pillar to the D’Ieteren Group – next to Belron, D’Ieteren Automotive, Moleskine and D’Ieteren Immo – and underlines D’Ieteren Group’s investment strategy to support the development of companies leading their markets, enjoying long term growth perspectives and with highly competent management teams.  

Deal rationale:
For the Vanhalst family, in addition to focusing on Mateco (renting and selling equipment), the sale will also provide more financial resources for the family investment company Quva, committed to investing and partnering with entrepreneurs.  

For the Thermote family, this transaction has provided them with a new long-term partner, aligned with their vision and values and able to support TVH Parts in an ambitious sustainable development plan.   

For D’Ieteren Group, the transaction is wholly aligned with the group’s investment strategy to invest in and support the development of companies leading their industries that enjoy long-term growth perspectives and have highly competent management teams with the ambition to make a difference. The fit with the TVH culture and values were also key for D’Ieteren Group. Both groups are family-controlled businesses with Belgian roots and a very successful history.

What is the impact of this deal for the company?
The sale to the D‘Ieteren Group allows TVH to finalize its internal restructuring, whereby the original founding families will refocus on their original activities (TVH Parts and Mateco). It will enable both companies, their management teams, and employees, to adopt a long–term perspective by having the respective support and commitment from the Thermote and D‘Ieteren families on one side and the Vanhalst family on the other.

What is the impact of this deal for the direct stakeholders?
See rationale. In this transaction, the deal rationale has been shaped by the direct stakeholders. For D‘Ieteren Group, the transaction crystallized the efforts to leverage its sizeable cash balance to further invest in international growth platforms. The Group will continue to seek investment opportunities meeting its investment criteria.  

What is the impact of this deal on society?
TVH Parts has a conscious and robust sustainability approach that the existing (Thermote family) and new shareholder (D‘Ieteren Group) intend to develop further. TVH Parts provides a solution for repairing and extending the life of equipment. The company contributes to the circular economy by remanufacturing certain parts and sell them, avoiding the costs of new parts or new machines.

What was most complex about this deal? 
The competition for such a quality asset and the required speed of execution. The transaction was organized as a selective auction-type of process led by an investment bank with a well-defined list of criteria to select the new shareholder. Given the perceived fit and the high competition for such an asset, D’Ieteren Group decided to frontload a lot of the work and build a conviction ahead of the start of the process. This led to fast-paced discussions with the Thermote family and the ability to accelerate the process with a convincing bid. 

Why does this deal deserve a nomination?
(According to Deloitte) The transaction is a landmark deal in the Belgian industrial landscape, with an enterprise value of around € 3,7 billion (making this the largest transaction of the year 2021), resulting in a new partnership between two firmly rooted Belgian families, the D’Ieteren and the Thermote families around an ambitious, long-term sustainable development plan for TVH Parts. The transaction also provides the Vanhalst family with the ability to focus on further building the operations of Mateco as well as invest in other businesses.   

TVH Parts was created by two young Belgian entrepreneurs and school friends, Paul Thermote and Paul Vanhalst, with the original intent of buying, repairing and reselling secondhand forklifts. Since then, after decades of profitable growth, the company has become the global independent leader of aftermarket parts related to material handling, construction & industrial, and agricultural equipment.  

After more than 50 years of successful collaboration, the founding families of TVH decided to each refocus on their original activities, with the Vanhalst family focusing on international renting & selling of equipment (under the Mateco name) and Thermote family on Parts. In March 2021, TVH completed the internal restructuring of the group whereby c. 60% of the Parts business remained owned by the Thermote family. The remaining c. 40% was then owned by the Vanhalst family, which was looking for a minority investor who would be willing to commit for the long term and support TVH Parts’ sustainable development plans.  

D’Ieteren Group is an investment firm controlled by a family and is still looking to expand and invest into new businesses.   

For the Vanhalst family, in addition to focusing on Mateco, the sale will also provide more financial resources for the family investment company Quva, committed to investing and partnering with entrepreneurs. For the Thermote family, this transaction has provided them with a new long-term partner, aligned with their vision and values and able to support TVH Parts in an ambitious sustainable development plan. For D’Ieteren Group, the transaction is completely aligned with the group’s investment strategy to invest in and support the development of companies leading their industries, that enjoy long-term growth perspectives and have highly competent management teams with the ambition to make a difference. The fit with the TVH culture and values were also key for D’Ieteren Group. Both groups are family controlled businesses with Belgian roots and a very successful history.

Destiny group acquires Telepo Holding AB, Soluno BC Holding AB and ipvision A/S

Facts

Involved firms and advisors buy side:  
M&A: Q Advisors  
Financial and Tax: Deloitte  
Legal: Van Olmen & Wynant, Vinge (Soluno), Osborne Clarke (Telepo), Acura (ipvision) 
IT: Cavell, Kerney Partners 

Involved firms and advisors sell side:  
M&A: Q Advisors, Arma Partners  
Financial, Tax and Operational: Svalner (Soluno), Baker Tilly (ipvision)  
Legal: Roschier (Soluno – SEB), Taylor Wessing (Telepo – Mitel), Dandersmore (ipvision – Management/Shareholder) 
Dataroom: Firmroom (Telepo), Sterling (Soluno) 

Pitch

Brief description deal / Deal outline: 
Destiny Group acquired 3 players in the Nordics’ cloud communications market: ipvision, Telepo and Soluno. The acquisitions of the Scandinavian companies transform Destiny into the leader in European cloud communication solutions for SMBs and service providers and provide access to the Scandinavian market.

Founded in 2008 by Daan and Samuel De Wever, Destiny is a secure cloud communication solutions provider, with proprietary innovative technology. Destiny is a European leader and innovator in secure cloud communications based on its powerful and secure mobile-first products and UCaaS. Destiny empowers +2 million business users to communicate, collaborate while providing excellent customer service.  

The management team includes Daan De Wever, CEO and co-founder, closely supported by Samuel De Wever (CTO and co-founder) and Joris Van Rymenant (CFO).

Attracted by the company’s competitive positioning, its strong organic growth path and its demonstrated consolidation capabilities, the funds managed by Apax Partners SAS (“Apax”) acquired a majority stake in Destiny in January 2020. Apax is a private equity pioneer investing for more than 45 years in leading mid-sized companies in Europe with a strong expertise in telecom and software, having invested in 40 companies in these sectors. 

Deal rationale: 
Cloud communication is a fast-growth segment in the telecom market.  

While still being a fragmented market, particularly in larger countries such as France & Germany, Destiny is an active consolidator in the Benelux, Scandinavia and several smaller markets, having grown to be the leading cloud communications provider in Belgium, and has the ambition to become the leading challenger to the incumbents (i.e. traditional telco companies) within 3-5 years in each country it is operating in.

The objective of these acquisitions is to enable Destiny to continue its rapid expansion in the fast-growing cloud-based unified communications market and to accelerate its international development.

Telepo’s UCaaS platform will be Destiny’s second such platform and will be deployed group-wide and leveraged in future expansions. Soluno’s addition to the group gives Destiny access to the Nordic market. With these acquisitions, Destiny is reaching the next level of its plan to own the European cloud communication space. The acquisition of the Danish communication and collaboration company ipvision further strengthens Destiny’s position as leading European SME-focused secure cloud communications provider.

What is the impact of this deal for the company? 
The three strategic acquisitions instantly launch Destiny to the top position in the European UCaaS market, thereby doubling in revenue.

Destiny has been a loyal Telepo client, using their platform to deliver best-in-class UCaaS services in the Benelux region. Combining their power will allow them to advance and accelerate Telepo’s development to build next generation UCaaS services aimed at the European SME market and delivered via Destiny’s channels and strategic partnerships.

Soluno was announced to be recognised as one of the top 20 leaders in growth and industry innovation by Frost & Sullivan in the 2020 UCaaS Frost Radar™ report. The acquisition gives Destiny an instantly strong position in Sweden and also leads to further internationalisation of Soluno. Since Soluno was also using Telepo’s platform, there will be no technological changes for their employees and clients. In addition, the Telepo platform is key in the solutions ipvision is providing for the company’s customers in Denmark.

With more than 700 employees and operations in Europe, the Brussels-based company has become the fastest-growing cloud and telecoms player in the Belgian B2B market and is expanding its reach in France, the Netherlands and the Nordic countries. Destiny’s solutions currently include fixed line (VoIP) and mobile telephony, unified communications (UCaaS), data networks, and secure cloud infrastructure services. Destiny owes its strong growth as a cloud telecom operator to its dedication to service, its remarkable flexibility and the constant expansion in its range of high-quality services.

What is the impact of this deal for the direct stakeholders? 
Destiny will be able to offer additional and broader service/product offerings thanks to the technologies developed by the acquired companies. Increased control over solution offerings as Destiny transitions from a service provider to a software platform company, thereby being able to better tailor the solutions to the needs of the partners and customers.

What is the impact of this deal on society? 
As a (cloud-)communications provider, Destiny’s solutions connect people and facilitate collaboration within and across businesses and people. The increased importance of remote communication and efficient tools is demonstrated through the impact of COVID-19, with Destiny being well positioned to help more businesses to become ready for a digital future in a cost effective way, with the additional benefit of a reduced carbon footprint as a result from virtuals meetings.To contribute to society and to meet ESG standards, Destiny uses the 3 P’s of sustainable development: People, Planet & Prosperity, and here they added one extra P: Person, to emphasize the responsibility of each person to contribute to the welfare of the organisation and society. Destiny uses these 4P’s as their vision to find the ideal solution for the problem or situation at hand. To translate this vision into a concrete strategy they use the CORE principle based on four organisational values: Commitment, Ownership, Respect and Empowerment. Management uses the CORE as a compass for decision-making. 

Destiny’s ‘Out-of-Use’ programme is a concrete example: telecom material which is out of use is being recuperated, refurbed or recycled thanks to a close collaboration with a sheltered workshop. The revenues coming from reselling the material (recuperated, refurbed or recycled) is split in two parts: 1 part is being directly invested in the sheltered workshop to provide extra tools and resources to people, another part flows back to Destiny to be invested in other social projects.

What was most complex about this deal? 

• The coordination & realisation of the 2 Swedish based acquisitions in parallel, having an existing supplier/customer relationship which required strict confidentiality as not to undermine the negotiating position.   
• Signing of Soluno/Telepo simultaneously on the same date (as per the above sensitivities).   

• Complex carve-out structure of Telepo as previously owned by Mitel, a competing communications company.  
• Parallel fundraising of additional debt & equity to finance the Soluno/Telepo and allow for further growth & acquisitions in the future (as demonstrated with the subsequent purchase of ipvision in August).

Why does this deal deserve a nomination? 
(According to Deloitte) It is a uniquely positioned, Belgium-based, fast-growing company that is actively pursuing an international growth strategy to become the leading cloud communications provider in Europe.

With the single M&A play of the simultaneous acquisition of Telepo, and Soluno, this deal has marked Destiny’s entry into the Scandinavian market and resulted in the group doubling in revenue. Destiny continued its rapid expansion in this market through the acquisition of ipvision just 2 months later.

This multifaceted deal had a broader scope than one single M&A acquisition. Coordinating two deals side by side, including the parallel fundraising needed for these two deals as well as the simultaneous signing of Soluno and Telepo on the same date, is unique in the Belgian M&A market. Furthermore, it required the carving out of Telepo, previously owned by Mitel, a Canadian competitor. Managing to accomplish all these forementioned feats while working under strict confidentiality, as Telepo and Soluno had an existing supplier/customer relationship, distinguishes these acquisitions from your generic M&A deal. 

From the deal, Destiny transitioned from a multi-country service provider to a software platform company with a service delivery network in 5 countries, serving incumbent telco’s such as Telia, T-Mobile, Orange, Hi3G, and many others.  

It is a high-growth segment, cloud communications, for which the market is forecasted to grow at 20% per year with additional growth to be realised from consolidating the fragmented market in Europe.  

The importance of secure & effective communication is becoming clear in a post-COVID world, further enabling the conversion from traditional telco offerings to Destiny’s cloud solutions to facilitate remote working & reducing environmental impact from virtual vs. physical meetings.

With these acquisitions, Destiny is reaching the next level of its plan to own the European cloud communication space and become Europe’s largest UCaaS platform provider. The acquisitions of the Sweden-based companies transform Destiny into the leader in European cloud communication solutions for SMBs and service providers, with a turnover of more than € 185 million and two million multi-tenant seats. Telepo’s UCaaS platform will be Destiny’s second such platform (following the previous acquisition of the Belgian Escaux) and will be deployed group-wide and leveraged in future expansions. Soluno’s addition to the group gives Destiny access to the Nordic market. In September 2021, the acquisition ipvision further strengthens Destiny’s position as leading European SME-focused secure cloud communications provider.

Combining forces with Telepo and Soluno gives Destiny group owned IP, technology that is easy to adopt, use and integrate, supported by great partners and talented local teams, and with the ambition to invest in further developing an innovative and market-leading UCaaS platform, while providing increasing levels of service and innovation to their customers. Destiny plans to continue to develop human-centric communication services for the cloud, serving their clients’ and partners’ ambitions in their local markets and specific sectors.  

Destiny will be able to standardise on Telepo technology for the group-wide platform to drive consistency and future growth. The Telepo team will benefit from Destiny’s strategy and resources to accelerate innovation and further enhance their offerings.

Blackstone acquires Desotec

Facts

Involved firms and advisors buy side:  
M&A: Lincoln International   
Legal: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Stibbe   
Financial and Tax DD: Deloitte   
Environmental DD: ERM   
Commercial DD: Oliver Wyman 

Involved firms and advisors target:  
Financial: Rothschild & Co   
Legal: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer   
Commercial VDD: Roland Berger   
Financial and Tax VDD: Deloitte   
Environmental VDD: ERM 
Advisor management: Baker McKenzie

Involved firms and advisors sell side: see target

Pitch

Brief description deal / Deal outline: 
Desotec is a leading European environmental services company with a mission to protect the planet through innovative circular filtration solutions, enabling clean water, air, and soil. The company focuses on mobile purification solutions, mainly based on its activated carbon technology, enabling customers to comply with increasing environmental regulations and sustainability requirements.

The company evolved to a European market leader in its field with an impressive track record of double-digit organic growth, further accelerated under EQT’s ownership.    Having made significant investments in sales, digital capabilities and technology, growing the company to the leading European provider of mobile filtration technology, the shareholders believed  that now was the good time to sell their stake in the company to the right partner. The shareholders found the ideal partner in private equity firm Blackstone, eager to continue to grow the business for the long run, and EQT decided to co-invest alongside Blackstone.

Deal rationale: 
Desotec is at the cusp of its next growth phase, as it is ready to (i) invest in its fifth reactivation furnace which will be the first-ever closed loop solution within the biogas segment and (ii) start expanding in Eastern and Northern Europe and potentially the US within the next 5 years.     

EQT believed that other parties may be better placed to drive this new growth phase forward and thus decided that now was a good time to sell its stake in the company. 

Desotec garnered extreme pro-active interest during the process as it is a rare, attractive ESG play with a winning subscription-based business model and loyal customers in an under-penetrated segment with significant expansion opportunity. The company offers a sticky, mission-critical service with highly recurring revenues and low customer churn rates. EQT’s strong conviction with respect to the growth ambitions of the group is exemplified by the fact that they decided to re-invest a minority stake under the new Blackstone-led ownership.

What is the impact of this deal for the company? 
Desotec operates in a fast-growing market with ample white space and supported by secular tailwinds (e.g. tightening regulations, increasing social awareness and ESG investor focus). Together with Blackstone, Desotec is set to pursue its ambitious growth plan, further penetrating the Northern and Eastern European markets and potentially expand into North America.

What is the impact of this deal for the direct stakeholders? 
With the support of Blackstone, Desotec will continue its mission to better protect the planet. The company plans to accelerate its pan-European growth strategy and fortify its market-leading position. By expanding Desotec’s footprint and hub-and-spoke network, the company will be able to serve its customers in a more cost- and time-efficient manner, unburdening them from environmental compliance and improving the world we live in.

What is the impact of this deal on society? 
The transaction provides financial strength to make significant technology and R&D investments related to its filtration technology which helps to protect our planet by enabling clean water, air and soil. The new Furnace 5 investment over the next few years will allow Desotec to fully close the loop for its customers in the Biogas segment as well, further improving the world we live in through unique and circular solutions.    Through the accelerated expansion towards new geographies with less developed mobile activated carbon markets, Desotec will enable these geographies to benefit from their purification systems with 75%-95% lower carbon footprint vs. the next best alternative technologies for specific applications. When it comes to corporate cultures, Desotec seems to be among the select few with a uniting goal strong enough to rally all its employees behind: Desotec Warriors, fighting for (y)our brighter future.

What was most complex about this deal? 
Rothschild & Co architected a process designed to extract the highest value from the bidders over an extremely short period of time. Strong interest was received, with over 70 pro-active approaches from potential strategic and financial bidders. Through a careful pre-selection process, only a limited selection of bidders were allowed to progress on the opportunity after carefully testing and assessing their interest.  Rothschild & Co coordinated a high-pressure and rapid M&A and due diligence process in only 10 days with all workstreams for the 4 remaining parties simultaneously.

Why does this deal deserve a nomination? 
(According to Rothschild) Founded by Joost Desmet and Bart & Peter Sobry in 1990, Desotec has pioneered the market for the purification of liquids and gases through mobile activated carbon filters. The company has evolved from a local engineering company focused on purification to a pioneer in mobile Filtration-as-a-Service (“FaaS”) purification solutions, fully closing the loop for its customers.  

Under AAC’s ownership, Desotec has achieved double digit growth and with EQT its growth has further accelerated over the past decade and today, Desotec’s fleet of approximately 2.700 mobile filters is the largest of its kind in Europe, serving a broad range of industrial applications, including air emission, biogas, remediation, wastewater, and chemicals.

Desotec has established a strong mission to protect our planet and make the world a better place through innovative circular filter solutions enabling clean water, air and soil. The company provides environmental compliance services to industrial customers, helping them to comply with the ever increasing environmental, regulatory and sustainability requirements for core or waste processes. The company’s solutions unburden their customers in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

Throughout the latest sale, Desotec enjoyed overwhelming interest with over 70 pro-active approaches from potential strategic and financial bidders. Rothschild & Co coordinated a rapid due diligence process in c. 10 days and negotiated a premium valuation of >20.0x EBITDA.

(According to Stibbe) Desotec has pioneered the market for mobile filters and has achieved strong top-line growth since foundation, which further accelerated under EQT Private Equity’s ownership. The company generated an estimated turnover of € 84 million and an EBITDA of € 36 million.

This transaction marks the beginning of a new chapter for Desotec as they continue their mission to better protect the planet. These investments will bring further strength to Desotec’s pan-European growth strategy and fortify its market-leading position. For Desotec, the Blackstone investment and continuous support of EQT are a demonstration of their trust in our strategy and team. This concerned the second largest Belgian deal of the year.

Deliverect

Facts

Pitch

Brief description deal / Deal outline:
Food tech start-up Deliverect has secured $ 65 million in a Series C funding round, as it aims to simplify online food delivery management with its software. New investors DST Global Partners and Redpoint Ventures joined the Series C round, as well as existing investors OMERS Ventures, Newion and Smartfin and Deliverect’s founders. 

Founded in 2018 by the founders of Posios, Deliverect supports global restaurant chains, FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) brands and local family-run restaurants to manage and grow their online orders, by connecting delivery companies directly to restaurants’ point-of-sale system.

Deal rationale: 
Deliverect plans to use the capital to support further R&D and product development, solidify its position in the US and continue its international expansion. In times of corona, the business of ordering meals online has grown exponentially. This is a chance for Deliverect to grow exponentially too.

What is the impact of this deal for the company? 
The Series C funding round brings Deliverect’s total fundraising to more than $ 90 million in three years. The company now operates in over 30 markets worldwide. 

In a next phase, the duo aims to jump from thousands to hundreds of thousands of users. Geographically, it will mainly invest in North and South America and the Middle East. The customer base is also being expanded. Local catering businesses continue to provide the bulk of the turnover, but the founders expect that more and more large chains will also become customers. A third segment where there is still a lot of growth to be found are the well-known brands from the FMCG sector (such as ice cream, soda, baked goods and confections).

What is the impact of this deal for the direct stakeholders? 
Since its Series B round in April last year, the team of 50 employees has grown to 200. In Belgium alone, Deliverect expects to employ another 100 people in the short term with this new capital round.

What is the impact of this deal on society? 
“The impact of this funding round goes beyond just Deliverect. It’s about the restaurants who are surviving and thriving despite the challenges of Covid-19. These funds will fuel Deliverect’s commitment to providing them with personalised technology to help them grow through their online sales and delivery channels”, said Zhong Xu, co-founder and CEO of Deliverect. 

“There is a significant need for a solutions-based company that can help restaurants overcome these challenges. Deliverect aims to become the global gateway for online food ordering and delivery, helping restaurants around the world to thrive online.”

Why does this deal deserve a nomination? 
The two entrepreneurs behind Deliverect have proven to be able to detect and solve problems. They build strong and user-friendly platforms that can easily be scaled-up internationally. They now ride the waves of the corona crisis, during which online meal ordering is booming. 

The platform supports over 10.000 establishments around the world including Pret a Manger, Taco Bell, Dishoom, as well as Unilever – which through Deliverect is able to integrate with Deliveroo and Uber Eats to deliver Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum ice creams directly to consumers. 

AgomAb Therapeutics

Facts

Pitch

Brief description deal / Deal outline: 
AgomAb was established 4 years ago, with the aim to develop therapeutics that can stimulate the body’s regenerative pathways leading to repair and restoration of organ function. 

After a € 21 million series A capital round in 2019, the company raised another $ 74 million in March 2021 from 8 investors.

Deal rationale: 
AgomAb Therapeutics wants to further accelerate its development progress and pipeline growth. The company will focus its product on difficult-to-treat autoimmune, inflammatory and fibrotic disorders. It will be a few years before there will be tests to see results in patients, whether it works and whether it is safe. But with the fresh capital, AgomAb will have the time and resources.

What is the impact of this deal for the company? 
The proceeds of the Series B will be used to fund clinical proof of concept of the lead  

program AGMB-101, an HGF-mimetic agonistic antibody, which is currently progressing through IND-enabling studies. The capital will also support further growth of the company’s pipeline of drug candidates designed to modulate regenerative pathways to induce functional organ recovery in acute and chronic diseases. 

In line with the financing and the company’s commitment to becoming a leader in harnessing regenerative pathways, AgomAb welcomed key hires to its leadership team, including Philippe Wiesel as Chief Medical Officer, bringing more than 10 years of expertise in clinical development of treatments of fibrotic disorders.

What is the impact of this deal for the direct stakeholders? 
n/a.

What is the impact of this deal on society? 
AgomAb leverages highly specific monoclonal antibodies to modulate regenerative pathways aiming to resolve inflammatory, metabolic, and fibrotic processes in a range of acute and chronic diseases.  

The lead candidate AGMB-101, developed using Argenx’ validated SIMPLE Antibody™ platform, is a Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF)-mimetic agonist of the MET receptor. HGF is a substance that is present in our body and that plays a role in general processes such as cell growth, cell division and survival. It is the substance that makes the liver regenerate when you take a piece away. The potential in medicine – for repairing organ damage – has been known for some time, but turning it into a medicine turned out not to be easy because the substance breaks down very quickly in the body. AgomAb managed to develop an antibody that mimics the action of HGF and lasts longer than the original, using Argenx’s technology. Preclinical studies have clearly demonstrated AGMB-101’s beneficial potential in a range of autoimmune, inflammatory and fibrotic disorders.

Why does this deal deserve a nomination? 
It is exceptional that a Belgian biotech company raises $ 74 million in one round. And in this case all the more so because AgomAb is still very young and has not yet tested any drug on humans. The fact that investors are putting so much money on the table indicates that AgomAb may have tapped a new gold vein in medicine.

“We have an approach that is potentially very broadly applicable, in many disease domains. We try to repair damage to the body and organs. If successful, we could trigger a shift in the field of regenerative medicine. That is what makes investors so enthusiastic.”, said CEO Tim Knotnerus. Like Argenx, AgomAb is working on a ‘pipeline in a product’. This means that it will be able to treat different diseases with one medicine. “We see strong effects in a very wide range of diseases.”

Another reason is related to the investors in this latest funding round. The company has won over American investors: Redmile Group and Cormorant Asset Management, both responsible for a very substantial amount. By attracting these American investors, the company may start thinking about listing on Nasdaq, where it might join other Belgian firms as Argenx, Galapagos and Iteos.