Bridgepoint has acquired Médipole Sud Santé (the “Company”) a major private hospital group in the Perpignan, Narbonne, Nîmes and Avignon, and France’s sixth-largest, for an undisclosed sum.

Médipôle Sud Santé currently operates from ten sites offering a wide range of services including medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology. Bridgepoint will support Médipôle in strengthening its role as a consolidating player in the South of France with the aim to develop and acquire clinics as regulatory and technological market trends emerge.

Pursuing the strategy developed by founding CEO Marcel Hermann and his management team, Bridgepoint will support Médipôle in its next phase of growth, with the aim of doubling the size of the group in the next five years.

Against a macroeconomic backdrop of budgetary constraints, the private hospital sector has performed well thanks to favourable demographic trends in France and the sector's ability to provide high-quality and cost-effective solutions to patients and health authorities.

Commenting on the investment, Marcel Hermann, CEO of Médipôle Sud Santé, said: "Healthcare companies rely heavily on delivering consistently high quality services and given the economic and financial issues involved in a business such as ours, we are pleased to welcome a partner that recognises these key aspects. With extensive experience in the healthcare sector, Bridgepoint is well placed to help us continue our growth plans."

Benoît Bassi, partner responsible for Bridgepoint's investment activities in France, said: "The strategy of the company thus far has enabled it to build a leadership position in Languedoc-Roussillon region, providing the best local healthcare offering, and establishing itself as an undisputed player in the private healthcare sector. Our objective is to make Médipôle the leading private company in medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology in southern France in the next five years."

Bridgepoint has made a number of investments in the healthcare sector in recent years including Médica (France, 2003-2007), Care UK (UK, 2010), Diaverum (Sweden, 2007) and Terveystalo (Finland, 2009). Médipôle is Bridgepoint's second investment in France in the last 12 months, following its acquisition and merger of Histoire d'Or/Marc Orian in 2010.

Advisers in this transaction included:

For Bridgepoint: Banking advisory: Crédit Agricole CIB; Strategy: BCG; Legal: Ginestié; Accounting due diligence: Accuracy; Tax due diligence: Arsène Taxand; Social due diligence: Péchenard; Insurance due diligence: Marsh ; Property due diligence: Adama Real Estate

For Médipôle Sud Santé: Banking advisory: BNP Paribas; Legal: SJ Berwin.