During the summer, Valedo has entered into agreements to acquire and combine two regionally leading psychiatric care businesses in Sweden, Björkviksgruppen in Skåne and Neuropsyk in Hälsingland. Both businesses are offering advanced full-responsibility diagnosis/evaluation, care, treatment/rehabilitation and aftercare of individuals with different types of severe psychiatric impairments. The Group’s new parent company will be Svenska Specialistpsykiatrigruppen AB (”Specialistpsykiatrigruppen” or “SSPG”, Eng. The Swedish Specialty Psychiatry Group), however, the operating units will continue to operate with their respective brand names.
The Group offers fulltime diagnosis/evaluations, care and treatments of individuals with severe psychiatric impairments and complicated care needs, where a prominent patient group is individuals that regularly suffer from long term psychoses-related illnesses. Other diagnoses treated include schizophrenia and other severe and challenging psychiatric impairments as well as acquired brain damages and double diagnoses (psychiatric impairments in combination with drug abuse problems). Besides diagnosis, treatment and care, SSPG is also offering training and education programs towards municipalities and other organizations as well as conducting research within the psychiatric field together with different universities. The Group has approximately 180 care placements distributed on eight care units in southern and Northern Sweden. SSPG has placement agreements with a number of municipalities and county councils and has been operating specialized psychiatric care since the early 1970-ties with a clear focus on quality of care. The Group is authorized to offer health care services and to be reimbursed from public funds according to a number of laws (such as the Health and Medical Services Act and the Social Services Act) regulated by government/county council bodies (such as the County Administrative Boards and the National board of Health and Welfare). SSPG had a pro forma turnover of approximately SEK 180 million in 2008 and has approximately 250 employees. Ulrika Östlund, the current Managing Director of the subsidiary Regnsjö Vårdcenter has been appointed to CEO of SSPG.
”There is a significant need in today’s Swedish society for a dedicated and professional psychiatric care company which has a clear focus on quality of care and patients with the most challenging care needs. I am happy to welcome Valedo as the majority owner of SSPG, and with our current staff coupled with additional resources and capital, we will ambitiously develop and grow our business in the coming years.” says Ulrika Östlund, CEO of SSPG.
Valedo is already an owner of the Swedish care company Solhagagruppen AB, which is focusing on individuals with autism-spectrum disorders. As SSPG and Solhagagruppen are focusing on different patient groups, the two companies will be managed and run completely separately from each other.
In this investment, Valedo has appointed the following external board members: Chairman Anders Bergqvist (CFO for Manpower in the Nordic region), Ulf Karlsson (Responsible for youth living facilities in Solhagagruppen) as well as Christer Olsson (Vice President Business Development in Coor).
Terms of the agreed transactions, which are subject to regulatory approvals, are not disclosed.
For further information, please contact:
| Valedo Partners Fund I AB Per Forsberg, +46-8-678 08 50 Nils Forsberg, +46-8-678 08 50 |
Svenska Specialistpsykiatrigruppen AB Ulrika Östlund, +46-70-344 32 34 |
About Valedo:
Valedo is an independent Swedish private equity fund managing SEK 1 billion for investments in high-quality small/mid cap companies in the Nordic region. Valedo is focusing on companies with clear growth and development potential where Valedo can actively contribute to and accelerate the companies’ development. Valedo is an active owner contributing capital and industrial experience to ensure that a company can achieve its full potential. SSPG is Valedo’s sixth investment and follows investments in Solhagagruppen (care for individuals with autism spectrum disorders), Aspen (bath room furniture), Bindomatic (document binding), Broadcast Text International (texting/dubbing) and Oscar Jacobson (formal men’s wear). For more information, please visit www.valedopartners.com