ARDIAN takes majority stake in Pflegia

Structured as a leveraged growth buyout, the transaction sees Ardian Growth acquire a majority stake in Pflegia AG, completing a founder recapitalization alongside selling shareholder U.C.A. AG. Announced and finalized in July 2026, the deal sees German investment holding company U.C.A. AG divest its historical 18.5% equity stake—realizing a mid-double-digit million euro book gain—while immediately reinvesting proceeds into a minority rollover position to participate in the platform's future growth cycle. Executive co-founders Lennart Steuer, Felix Westphal, and Masoud Shahryari retain their corporate management responsibilities and preserve substantial equity ownership stakes. Marketed on historical financial performance, the business reached €25–50M in turnover, generated €5–25M in EBITDA, and maintained an [members only] EBITDA margin. Debt financing supporting the leveraged acquisition was structured and committed by Artemid. Strategically, the entry of the private equity sponsor aims to finance the technical acceleration of the platform's proprietary machine learning algorithms, notably neural networks evaluating retention probabilities and automated optical credential verification systems. The fresh equity injection will also fund pan-European internationalization initiatives—targeting adjacent healthcare markets across France, Spain, and the Benelux—while evaluating programmatic bolt-on acquisitions of niche DACH job platforms and medical workflow SaaS providers. The transaction mobilized a specialized multi-jurisdictional advisory syndicate. On the buy-side, Ardian engaged McDermott Will & Schulte for corporate legal counsel and financing legal advisory, while KPMG directed the financial, legal, and tax audit scopes, and OMMAX executed commercial and technology due diligence. On the sell-side, Raymond James acted as exclusive M&A financial advisor to Pflegia AG and its shareholders, supported by Stolzenberg on corporate legal structuring and Rödl & Partner on financial auditing. Artemid was counseled by Gide.