About the deal

Headquartered in Lisieux (France), Sodel is engaged in development, production and sale of cleaning and disinfection products for hygiene professionals. Through its Exeol, Propre Odeur, X1 and GAO brands, Sodel offers in France and French-speaking regions, a complete range of products for hygiene and disinfection needs, for all Food Service and Facililty Management professionals. With Alkapharm, its Healthcare Division’s brand, Sodel supports health professionals around the world in the fight against hospital-acquired infections: from pre-disinfectant cleaning of medical devices to floor and surface treatment, as well as Hand Hygiene products. Strong of 85 employees, Sodel reports €25+m revenues of which 60% in Healthcare.

Backed by Private Equity firms for c. 15 years (LBO France, BNP Paribas Developpement, Paluel Marmont Capital, Socadif), Sodel had joined the Nehs Group in 2017 further to a sell-side process monitored by Capitalmind Investec. After 3 years of integration with Nehs Group, Capitalmind Investec has been appointed by Nehs Group to find a new owner for Sodel as the business was no longer fitting Nehs’ strategy for growth. After a swift preparation phase, and a warm-up of possible strategic buyers, HLD preempted the deal within a few weeks.

What we did

Capitalmind Investec was mandated to support Sodel’s shareholder all along the disposal process from preparing the asset for sale, qualifying and warming up most relevant buyers for the business, advising transaction strategy & defining deal tactics, negotiating best deal terms through the preemptive process.

This deal reinforces Capitalmind Investec expertise in the professional hygiene space (other deals advised by Capitalmind Investec in this space include the acquisition of Ewabo by Theseo, the sale of Theseo to Lanxess, the investment by Sofiproteol in Kersia’ secondary LBO). This deal also illustrates Capitalmind Investec’s expertise in assisting corporates in carving out non-core businesses.