Waterland Private Equity (“Waterland”) realizes its stake in ATOS, a leading network of specialist orthopaedic clinics across Germany. With Intermediate Capital Group (“ICG”), ATOS gains a new, financially strong partner with experience in the healthcare sector to support the group’s future growth significantly. To do so, ICG will rely on a close partnership with the current ATOS management team, which will also increase its stake in the clinic group. Further financial details of the transaction – which is subject to the usual approvals by anti-trust authorities and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2021 – were not disclosed.
ATOS Group is a network of nine clinics and multiple outpatient facilities specialising in cutting-edge orthopaedic care. ATOS’ success has been driven by a strong focus on exceptionally high medical standards, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and using the latest medical technolo-gies and practices. The medical excellence and high levels of patient satisfaction are delivered by leading and internationally renowned medical specialists – all experts within in their fields.
The first ATOS facilities were carved out of the clinic group MEDIAN in 2016 in order to set them on their own growth trajectory with the support of Waterland. At the time, Waterland set up an independent holding company for the three hospitals in Heidelberg, Munich and Braun-fels. In the five years that followed, Waterland and ATOS successfully implemented an ambi-tious buy & build strategy. Through the acquisition of further clinics and the systematic devel-opment of an outpatient network, a unique platform for state-of-the-art orthopaedic medical care was built. Recently, the construction of a new clinic in Wiesbaden was initiated and the renovation of the largest ATOS clinic (Braunfels) was successfully finished. Over time, ATOS’ management team was expanded and an integrated treatment concept developed so that pa-tients at ATOS experience top-quality medical care “under one roof”, from their outpatient ex-amination to the relevant operation as well as the clinical follow-up treatment.
Today, the ATOS Group, with over 1,000 employees, some 170 doctors, nine inpatient clinics, and eleven outpatient locations is managed out of Munich. It has become one of the quality leaders in the field of orthopaedic medical care in Germany. During the partnership with Wa-terland, the clinic chain’s turnover has more than tripled to around 130 million euros annually.
“When we founded ATOS Group, our aim right from the start was to establish a stellar brand in the orthopaedic sector. Through targeted acquisitions and continuous investments in treat-ment quality, top physicians and modern technologies over the past five years, we have achieved important milestones” explains Dr. Carsten Rahlfs, Managing Partner at Waterland Private Equity. “In our search for a new strategic partner, it was important for us to bring on board an experienced investor with the necessary industry know-how and entrepreneurial acumen. We are pleased to have found ICG, who is an extremely experienced healthcare investor, for the long-term growth of ATOS. We are convinced that the company will continue its success story under new ownership.”
“With Waterland’s support, we have been able to develop a small group of clinics into a leading orthopaedic network that is active throughout Germany, while not only maintaining our quality standards, but also significantly advancing them. Today, we perform over 20,000 operations per year and receive a recommendation rate of 98 percent, far above the national average. We would like to thank Waterland for their close support as partners throughout the holding period and look forward to embarking on the next phase of growth with our new partner ICG,” says Martin von Hummel, CEO of the ATOS Group.
The independent investment company Waterland Private Equity has extensive experience in the healthcare sector. In addition to ATOS, the company’s portfolio also includes leading rehabilitation clinic group MEDIAN, physiotherapy provider ATHERA, and care service provider Schönes Leben Group.
