Alantra advises Oakley Capital on the strategic combination of Germany’s largest independent OTC and wellbeing platform Windstar Medical with Merz Group

Oct 2024

Sell-side advisory

London, Frankfurt, New York – Alantra has acted as financial advisor to Oakley Capital on the strategic combination of Germany’s largest independent over-the-counter (‘OTC’) consumer health and wellbeing platform Windstar Medical with the German healthcare corporation Merz Group.

Founded in 1993, Windstar is Germany’s leading OTC consumer health and wellbeing company which designs, develops and commercializes branded and private label consumer health and wellbeing products, with a track record of establishing best-in-class medical formulations and brands.

The deal structure combines Windstar and Merz’s Life Care division to create one of the leading providers of OTC health and wellbeing products in the DACH region. On completion, the Merz Group will hold a majority stake in the holding. 

Matthew Wiseman, Managing Director at Alantra, said: “This transaction is a perfect example of our team’s expertise in Health, Beauty and Wellbeing, one of our key global sub-sectors, and our ability to collaborate across borders to achieve outstanding results for our clients. Led by the UK team with invaluable on-the-ground support from our colleagues in Germany, the process also benefited from our U.S. team’s extensive buyer network, ensuring a seamless and successful outcome.”

Christopher Jobst, Managing Director at Alantra, added: “It was a great pleasure to support Oakley and the Windstar management team in this successful and transformative transaction. We foresee a prosperous future for the newly combined group and will follow closely its development.”

Merz Group is actively engaged in the research and development of pharmaceuticals for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric diseases. The company also develops drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, anti-dementia, anti-parkinson, liver and scar therapy.

Oakley Capital, which acquired Windstar Medical in 2020, is a leading private equity firm backing high-growth, lower mid-market and mid-market companies across Europe. The firm focuses on digitally-enabled businesses in four core sectors: Technology, Consumer, Business Services and Education.

This transaction further reinforces Alantra’s continued momentum in the Health, Beauty and Wellbeing industries, where the team has recently advised on a variety of deals such as vH essentials, The Grooming Company, Viactiv, Nails inc, Childs Farm, Medik8, Alphacaps, Bee Health, Aakamp, UAS Labs, Absolute Collagen, Hairburst and Vivona Brands.