Columna Capital has sold its majority stake in Ardentis Cliniques Dentaires to Medbase, bringing one of the leading dental care platforms in French-speaking Switzerland under the ownership of one of the country’s largest healthcare networks. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction closed on August 14.
Medbase will become the new majority shareholder in Ardentis, while the company’s management team will reinvest and retain a significant minority stake.
Ardentis Co-CEOs Mark Bischof and Yves Corthésy will remain involved in the business, providing continuity as the company enters its next stage of growth.
Founded in 1993, Ardentis operates an integrated network of dental clinics across Western Switzerland.
The company currently has 20 clinics, primarily in major urban locations, employs approximately 450 people and serves around 70,000 patients annually.
Columna Capital first invested in Ardentis in December 2019.
During Columna’s ownership, Ardentis pursued both organic expansion and acquisitions while continuing to invest in clinical quality and patient care.
The company completed 15 greenfield and brownfield clinic openings, acquisitions and patient-book transactions during the investment period.
Ardentis also expanded its footprint from 12 locations at the time of Columna’s investment to 20 locations today.
Its number of dental chairs increased from 77 to 149 over the same period.
Columna and the management team also invested in Ardentis’ central services and management infrastructure to support the continued integration and expansion of the network.
Ardentis has developed centralized functions supporting its clinics, including an in-house dental laboratory at its Puidoux headquarters and a call center.
Under Medbase ownership, Ardentis will continue to operate independently while gaining access to a broader healthcare platform.
Medbase already owns zahnarztzentrum.ch, giving the group an existing presence in the Swiss dental care market.
The acquisition allows Medbase to expand further into French-speaking Switzerland while adding a well-established dental network to its integrated healthcare offering.
Medbase operates approximately 190 medical centers, psychotherapy practices, pharmacies and dental centers throughout Switzerland.
More than 4,400 healthcare professionals work across the group, which provides services spanning prevention, acute care and rehabilitation.
Medbase also provides logistics services and digital tools to healthcare practices and other participants across the medical treatment chain.
For Ardentis, the partnership provides a larger shareholder platform capable of supporting additional expansion while preserving the company’s existing clinical leadership and operating model.
Medbase views dentistry as an important part of primary healthcare and sees Ardentis as an opportunity to expand its integrated care strategy into Western Switzerland.
The transaction also represents the culmination of more than six years of ownership by Columna Capital.
London-based Columna focuses on lower middle-market investments across Italy, France, Iberia and Southern DACH, with particular emphasis on healthcare and well-being, animal health, financial and business services and agri-food.
The firm typically invests in profitable businesses generating up to €100 million in revenue with significant opportunities for organic growth and industry consolidation.
UBS served as financial advisor to Columna Capital and Ardentis management.
CMS served as legal advisor, Mazars provided financial due diligence and Candesic provided commercial due diligence.
Medbase was advised by Deloitte on financial and human resources matters and by Bär & Karrer on legal and tax matters.
KEY QUOTES:
“Since our initial investment in December 2019, we have worked closely with the Ardentis management team to implement a targeted growth strategy in Romandie based on maintaining the high standards of patient care, organic growth, greenfield expansion and M&A.”
“Over the investment period, the group has doubled its footprint by growing from 12 to 20 locations and 77 to 149 chairs. Significant focus has been on the reconfiguration of central services and the expansion of the management team in order to provide best in class operating support to the clinics and to allow for further scaling of Ardentis as an integrated sector leader in the future.”
“We extend our gratitude to Dr Mark Bischof, Dr Rabah Nedir and Yves Corthésy and the entire management team for their collaboration and leadership over the course of this partnership, and we look forward to seeing Ardentis’s ongoing development under Medbase’s stewardship.”
Vilmos Pongracz, Co-Founder and Partner at Columna Capital, and Charles Nantois, Partner at Columna Capital
“Becoming part of the Medbase Group aligns perfectly with our core values based on high-quality care and long-term sustainable development and collaboration. We have always strived to put servicing our patients at the centre of what we do and to continuously improve the quality of care.”
“Medbase will be a strong partner and shareholder to support us in this journey going forward. With zahnarztzentrum.ch we also share a similar corporate culture. We are looking forward to this new partnership.”
Dr. Mark Bischof, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Ardentis, and Yves Corthésy, Co-CEO of Ardentis
“Since co-founding Ardentis in 1993 and acting as Co-CEO until 2024, I am very proud of what we have built to become the leading integrated dental group in French speaking Switzerland.”
“We have always stuck to our core values of selecting the best locations and providing high-quality dental care to our patients while investing in the professional development of our clinical staff. I would like to express my gratitude to the Ardentis management team and to Columna for their strong commitment and knowledge sharing since 2019, which made this achievement possible.”
Dr. Rabah Nedir, Co-Founder and Former Co-CEO of Ardentis
“We view dentistry as an important part of primary health care. Ardentis has attractive urban locations and is firmly established as the leading dental group in Western Switzerland.”
“With this acquisition, we can now expand our activities into this region and continue to pursue our strategy of providing integrated healthcare services.”
Marcel Napierala, CEO of Medbase Group
