Inflexion makes it three healthcare deals in a year with Proteros move

• Inflexion’s minority investment aims to help Proteros grow globally, particularly in the US
• The firm has also invested in healthcare firms Upperton and SteriPack in the last 12 months
• Proteros CEO Torsten Neuefeind retains the majority shareholding

Inflexion has made a minority investment in Proteros Biostructure, a founder-led contract research organisation that focuses on early-stage drug discovery.

Proteros works in structural biology and allows users to map the shape of a drug target “with a high degree of precision”, according to a statement from Inflexion. The firm is based in Munich and works with companies in Europe, the US and Japan.

Inflexion’s minority investment will help Proteros scale globally, organically and via acquisition, particularly in the US, the firms said. Founder and CEO Torsten Neuefeind remains in charge of the company and retains a majority shareholding.

Proteros is Inflexion’s third investment in the healthcare sector in the last 12 months, after taking stakes in Upperton and SteriPack. The total invested by Inflexion across the three deals is over £300 million ($364 million; €341 million), with the deals having a combined enterprise value of over £600 million.

Partnership Capital II, Inflexion’s dedicated minority fund, made the investment. The same fund made a minority investment in secondment and recruitment agency YER in December.

Inflexion is a mid-market private equity firm with funds under management of around £7.1 billion. It invests £10 million to £400 million of equity in each deal and has offices in London, Manchester and Amsterdam.

David Whileman, a partner at Inflexion, told PE Hub Europe in December why minority investing is on the rise and outlined some of the pros and cons of the approach.