Hartenberg acquired majority stake in Imunoglukan and Pleuran
May 21, 2014
Hartenberg Holding (Hartenberg) has acquired majority shareholding in Imunoglukan s.r.o., and Pleuran s.r.o., (Imunoglukan), privately owned biotechnology companies, which has developed and successfully marketed the leading immune-support supplement, Imunoglukan P4H ® on the CEE markets.
Ján Gabriž, the founder, and Martin Polák, the CEO of Imunoglukan, as well as the existing management team, will continue to operate the business.
Headquartered in Bratislava (Slovakia), Imunoglukan has over 20 years of proprietary R&D history during which it has developed and patented a unique, biologically active and 100% natural beta-glucan isolate with proven efficacy in various therapeutic areas.
Imunoglukan sells more than one million units in 16 markets every year and dominates on Czech and Slovak market.
“We are acquiring Imunoglukan because we like the product and its market position that the company has developed over the past 10 years. The product is of 100% natural origin and has positive effects proven by numerous clinical studies. Our ambition for the future is to accelerate the growth of Imunoglukan on new markets and also broaden the use of the active substance Imunoglukan to other attractive health care areas,” said Jozef Janov, Managing Partner of Hartenberg.
“We have initiated the process to find a suitable financial partner for our future plans. We are delighted to be welcoming Hartenberg as a partner in our business. Hartenberg is completely aligned with our strategy to develop Imunoglukan’s platform for future growth and roll out on the new markets. Hartenberg will also provide us with additional financial capability to make strategic investments,” said Ján Gabriž, founder of Imunoglukan.
Martin Polák, CEO of Imunoglukan added: “We as the management look forward to work with Hartenberg. Investment of such a strong financial partner confirms our business strategy. We plan to accelerate the growth in each of our core markets with our existing distribution partners even further while opening new markets and work on the new product extensions”.
KPMG Corporate Finance acted as an exclusive financial advisor on the transaction representing founders and advising on the overall deal process and the negotiations. Legal advice was provided by HMG Partners.
The parties agreed that the financial details of the transaction will not be disclosed.
About Imunoglukan
Founded in 2000, Pleuran, s.r.o. has over 20 years of proprietary R&D history possessing a rich portfolio of evidence based medicine on its proprietary 100% natural beta-glucan isolate ranging from elementary in-vitro and animal studies to advanced degree of double-blind, placebo controlled, randomized clinical studies.
Imunoglukan, s.r.o. was later founded in 2010. Today it serves as the commercial arm of the business, currently selling over one million units annually and covering 16 markets with leading positions in Czech Republic and Slovakia. Imunoglukan recorded average sales growth of over 20% annually since 2010.
The company launched its first product Imunoglukan P4H ® in 2001 in capsule form, followed by the development of the today patented dietary and cosmetic hydrogel. The company consequently formulated the Imunoglukan P4H ® syrup which is the landmark product of the company.
The company has further marketed other successful product extensions such as the Imunoglukan P4H ® cream (wide spectrum topical product), Imunoglukan P4H ® ACUTE! (5 capsules, high dose package for acute needs) or the Imunoglukan P4H ® SynBIO product extension (Imunoglukan and probiotics fusion preparation) providing additional benefits for the digestive tract.
Imunoglukan is currently in the process of developing methods of application of its natural bioactive ingredient in other food & health care fields within human and veterinary sectors.
About Hartenberg:
Hartenberg Holding is a company focused on investments in assets in the Central European Region, primarily Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. Equity commitments from the founders reach 200 million EUR.
We typically invest in companies with Enterprise Values from 40 million to 200 million EUR, which may require equity investments of 20 million to 100 million EUR.
We prefer to be a long-term investor in companies we acquire. A typical time horizon for us will be more than five years, however, we may stay invested “forever” if the acquired company provides us with a sufficient dividend yield and reasonable capital gains potential.
Shareholders of Hartenberg Holding are Mr. Andrej Babiš and Mr. Jozef Janov.