Axa Private Equity, a France-based subsidiary of a local insurer, has acquired Riemser Arzneimittel, a Germany-based specialty pharmaceutical company, from its minority shareholders that include US-listed industrial conglomerate General Electric’s GE Healthcare Financial Services subsidiary.
Axa said it bought the shareholdings of Riemser’s founding Braun family and those of various minority stakeholders, including TVM Capital.
In March 2008, venture capital firm TVM Capital and GE Healthcare Financial Services jointly owned 25.4% of shares in Riemser, with the remaining 74.6% owned by the Braun family. TVM Capital gained a 10% share in the pharmaceutical company at the end of 2007.
Last year, Riemser, which has around 500 employees on its payroll, posted sales revenues of about €100m ($125m).