Keensight Capital will use its contacts in North America and Europe to boost the expansion of its recent acquisition, data management software provider BYG4Lab, according to partner Grégory Agez.
Paris-headquartered Keensight Capital announced a majority stake acquisition of BYG4Lab in mid-July. BYG4Lab, based in L’Union, France, provides data management software for medical laboratories specialised in biology and microbiology. Services developed by the company address central lab and point of care testing, and cover a range of disciplines of medical biology, including immunochemistry, haematology, molecular and microbiology.
“We are very management driven in our strategy,” Agez told PE Hub Europe. “BYG4Lab’s team is very creative, very passionate about the project and has the expertise.”
Over 4,500 individual laboratories utilise BYG4Lab’s software. Keensight identified strong potential to internationalise the company further, especially in North America. “We have existing clients in these countries, and we plan to develop partnerships,” Agez explained.
Alongside the main growth axis, there are also plans for additional acquisitions to boost growth. These take two forms – to expand the value chain and to enter new geographies via existing companies. Further acquisitions would include other technologies with complementary functionalities that complete BYG4Lab’s offering.
As a growth buyout investor, Keensight wants to keep all options open at the exit. A differentiated product, such as BYG4Lab’s offering, could draw trade buyers interested in its position in the market, according to Agez. An LBO, or on rare occasions an IPO, are not off the table either.
A human approach
Keensight aims to identify niche leaders within sectors of healthcare and technology that have the potential to grow globally. “In this space, you can find a lot of local healthcare companies, but with very local products, and so they cannot be internationalised,” Agez explained.
Once the niche and potential have been determined, Keensight has another key value to consider: a “partnership mindset” with the management. This allows flexibility with the firm’s investments, as Keensight is happy to do minority and majority acquisitions when the right partnership is found. “We need to have human chemistry with the management, it needs to be mature,” Agez said. “It’s how we ensure low volatility in our projects – we don’t need to change the management in the future.”
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