Frankfurt/Hamburg, 25 February 2021 – Ardian, a world leading private investment house, announced the acquisition of a majority stake in GBA Group alongside GBA’s management team and Quadriga Capital. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Hamburg, GBA Group (GBA) is a leading independent TIC (Testing, Inspection, Certification) provider of bio-analytical laboratory services in the DACH region with a strong presence in Belgium and Poland.

GBA’s core testing service competences are focused on the most attractive and resilient fields of food & beverage, pharmaceutical and environmental analytics. Unique characteristics of the Company are its comprehensive & differentiated service and testing portfolio, strong service orientation, cutting edge innovation capabilities and its high customer loyalty. These features have assured the business a superior competitive positioning. Today, GBA’s network comprises 39 locations and 44 laboratories with approximately 1,400 employees.

Under the ownership of Quadriga Capital, GBA has transformed into an institutionalized platform led by an entrepreneurial management team, which accelerated the company’s organic growth and widened its geographic reach through several synergetic acquisitions. Ardian and Quadriga Capital will partner with GBA’s management team to further grow the business through investments in its core, as well as expansion into new markets and continuing its focus on operational excellence.
Ardian has deep expertise and an extensive network in the TIC sector as well as the sub-segments served by GBA, and plans to support the Company’s management in the implementation of an international buy & build strategy, similar to Ardian’s approach with other successful investments.

Steffen Walter, CEO of GBA, commented: “The management team of GBA would like to thank Quadriga Capital for their strong support over the last years enabling GBA to become an institutionalized platform, substantially widen its service portfolio throughout our three core segments and to extend our geographical reach. Ardian’s interest in GBA is a testament to our resilience, consistent growth, future growth opportunities and independent market positioning. By partnering with Ardian, GBA will gain access to a large international TIC network and will accelerate its growth through organic growth investments and further M&A.”

The Ardian Buyout team in Germany added: “Given our dedicated sector focus, we followed GBA closely for many years. This acquisition is a good example of how Ardian invests thematically alongside trends and in our four key sectors focusing on strong, non-cyclical businesses with a variety of future growth avenues. We have been deeply impressed by the strong mix of entrepreneurial drive, business acumen and strategic vision of GBA’s management team. We are delighted about the prospect of working together with such an excellent team and all of GBA’s employees in accelerating the execution of the Company’s strategy.”

Philipp Jacobi, Managing Partner of Quadriga Capital’s advisor stated: “We would like to thank Steffen Walter and his team for the great and hard work over the last years. The strong team effort has been fundamental to significantly increase the scale, improve the competitive positioning and to truly transform GBA into a fast growing institutionalized platform. Together with Ardian as a new partner and the management team we are excited to embark on a new program of accelerated growth.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory consents.