June 22, 2004
French diagnostic group bioMérieux launched its initial public offering, which Willkie client Wendel Investment, the French private equity group, utilized to sell its 35 percent holding in the company.
On June 22, French diagnostic group bioMérieux launched its initial public offering, which Willkie client Wendel Investment, the French private equity group, utilized to sell its 35 percent holding in the company. As reported in the French press, Wendel will sell 9.98 million shares, with an over-allocation option of 1.5 million shares. An initial price range of €26.90 to €31.25 per share values bioMérieux somewhere between €1 billion and €1.2 billion. Wendel has also agreed to sell a 5 percent stake in bioMérieux through a private placement to a group of investors led by CIC, the French mutual bank. The eighth largest diagnostic group in the world, bioMérieux manufactures diagnostic machines and reagents for laboratories and hospitals to test for diseases such as SARS, HIV and cancer. Paris partner Daniel Hurstel handled the transaction.
