Deal Announcement 05/19: Healthcare

The Deal

The PwC M&A team is pleased to announce the successful closing of Project Noel, the 100% sale of Caritas Trägergesellschaft West gGmbH (“Caritas Trägergesellschaft West” or “CTW”) incl. a 33,33% minority share in St. Elisabeth Krankenhaus Cologne-Hohenlind to Josefs-Gesellschaft GmbH (majority share, “Josefs-Gesellschaft”) and Caritasverband für das Bistum Aachen e. V. (minority share, “DiCV Aachen”). PwC was mandated by the shareholders Carolus-Stiftung Stiftung des Deutschen Caritasverbandes e. V. (“Carolus-Stiftung”) and Gesellschaft für Anstaltskredit mbH (“GfA”) to find a new strategic partner for CTW.  

PwC M&A acted as exclusive financial advisor together with PwC Legal (legal vendor assistance and legal M&A advice) and PwC Valuations & Strategy (financial vendor assistance) to the shareholders of CTW on this transaction. 

As a result of an internal strategic options review, the shareholders of CTW decided to divest their acute care activities and engaged PwC M&A to find a Catholic non for profit owner for the hospital group. Under the new ownership of Josefs-Gesellschaft and DiCV Aachen, CTW will continue to provide primary care services to the population between Aachen and Cologne. The buyer consortium led by Josefs-Gesellschaft offered the best holistic concept for CTW and plans to continue operations of all facilities while preparing and supporting the group for the future.  

The transaction was subject to approval by the German antitrust authority. Both parties agreed not to disclose the conditions and terms of the transaction.  

CTW 

CTW is an operator of five hospitals and two nursing homes in the area between Cologne and Aachen generating revenues of EUR 200m. The five hospitals located in Düren (Lendersdorf and Birkesdorf), Linnich, Jülich, and Prüm have a capacity of 1,094 beds and focus on primary care services. In addition, CTW operates two nursing homes with a total capacity of 180 beds. Furthermore, two MVZ, an outpatient rehabilitation centre, and a minority share in the St. Elisabeth Krankenhaus Cologne-Hohenlind (revenues of EUR 100m) form part of the group. CTW employs over 3,000 employees across the different facilities. Further information on CTW can be found on www.ct-west.de.

Carolus-Stiftung & GfA 

Carolus-Stiftung and GfA are two associated organisations of Deutscher Caritasverband e. V. (DCV) which manage real estate and other financial assets of DCV. DCV is a social welfare organisation offering a broad portfolio of services via a network of more than 6,400 legally independent entities and 24,700 facilities and service providers in Germany. Further information on DCV can be found on www.caritas.de.

Josefs-Gesellschaft

Josefs-Gesellschaft is a large Catholic operator of nursing homes, facilities for handicapped people and hospitals. The company has a total of 25 subsidiaries employing more than 7,000 people. With Eduardus-Krankenhaus (Cologne) and Elisabeth-Krankenhaus (Olsberg), Josefs-Gesellschaft already operates two hospitals in North-Rhine Westphalia. Further information on the company can be found on www.jg-gruppe.de. 

DiCV Aachen

DiCV Aachen comprises the activities of all Catholic facilities in the diocese of Aachen. The primary goal of the organisation is to facilitate the cooperation between its member organisations. Further information on the organisation can be found on www.caritas-ac.de. 

PwC

The global PwC network is a worldwide association of independent auditing and consulting companies which together employ more than 250,000 people in 158 countries. Our global network comprises nearly 1,550 M&A professionals, realising approx. 400 successful transactions per year. We specialise in a wide range of independent M&A services including advice on acquisitions and disposals, mergers, public takeovers, privatisations as well as structured financing. 

The PwC M&A team consisted of Alexander von Friesen (Partner), Constantin Gutknecht (Senior Manager), Patrick Schachtner (Senior Associate), and Matthias Altmann (Associate).  

The PwC Legal team comprised of Sebastian Babbe (Local Partner), Sebastian Ulbrich (Senior Manager), and Anna Lena Opitz-Schellenberg (Manager). 

The PwC Valuations & Strategy team consisted of Armin Albat (Partner), Michael Patzak (Senior Manager), Michael Azarhin (Manager), and Janik Möhlmann (Associate).