Old Mutual Private Equity (OMPE), one of the largest and most established private equity players in South Africa, has acquired a 50% interest in Medhold Group (Medhold), a prominent end-to-end supplier of world-class medical devices. 

The transaction has obtained unconditional approval from the Competition Commission in South Africa and pending approval from the Competition Commission in Zimbabwe.

Farhad Khan, Investment Principal at OMPE, said: “There is strong alignment between ourselves and the management team of Medhold, which is highly regarded in the market place and has demonstrated a long-term track record of growth.”  

“We believe this to be a very smart way to invest in a defensive and growing healthcare segment, particularly in the rest of Africa. We look forward to working alongside the team to execute on its growth strategy,” he said.

Medhold, a key supplier to the healthcare industry across Southern Africa since 1988, operates in the medical devices market, backed by vital clinical engineering support and after-sales repair services to the healthcare industry in Southern Africa. 

Its product range includes anaesthetic delivery systems, maternal infant care, patient monitoring, cardiology, ventilation, infection control, surgical and electro-surgery equipment, amongst others, which are used to sustain life and support patient care. 

This segment of the market has very high service requirements and demands deep clinical engineering expertise and experience, product knowledge and a national footprint to enable full customer service delivery. 

Along with its initial investment, OMPE will provide additional growth capital to support the business’s expansion plans locally and in the rest of Africa, to further scale and cement Medhold’s position as a regional leader. 

The partnership will also further enhance Medhold’s Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment credentials through an improved BBBEE scorecard. 

Medhold remains 50% owned by the Management team. 

Chumani Kula, Investment Principal at OMPE, said: “Partnering with management teams we like, trust and admire, in businesses with a clear and strong suite of competitive advantages and an exciting growth opportunity set are core pillars of our investment strategy. These core pillars are firmly present in our investment in Medhold.” 

“We fully support Medhold’s vision of improving the quality of life on the African continent and we see a meaningful opportunity to provide growth capital in order for the business to continue to expand its footprint nationally and across the rest of the African continent.” 

Matthew Stephens, CEO of Medhold said: “As a business we pride ourselves in building long-term partnerships with high quality partners, both from a supplier and customer perspective.” 

“As we enter this next growth phase of our business, we are delighted to join forces with a partner of high calibre such as OMPE, who we are commercially and culturally very aligned with. We are excited about the growth prospects of the business and look forward to working closely with OMPE.”

OMPE is a member of Old Mutual Alternative investments, which manages over $4.8bn in assets under management across private equity, infrastructure and various impact funds  and has offices in South Africa, West and East Africa.