Crowe supports NORD Holding in the acquisition of HKS health solutions

Crowe has advised NORD Holding, a leading private equity and asset management company in Germany, on the acquisition of HKS health solutions Group (“HKS”), a provider and contract manufacturer of high-quality nutritional supplements and pharma­ceuticals based in Germany and Austria.

HKS was founded in 2021 through the merger of three specialized companies that combine com­pre­hensive expertise along the entire value chain - from product development and contract manufacturing to warehousing and logistics. HKS is active in three main areas: contract manufacturing of high-quality food supplements and pharmaceuticals, trading in over 1,500 raw materials (primarily medicinal mushrooms) and the distribution of private labels under the HAWLIK umbrella brand. With this broad focus, the company serves customers of different sizes and requirements. The product focus is on the manufacture of hard capsules, liquids, powders and tablets at the two production sites in Germany (DRONANIA Pharmaceuticals GmbH, Bad Wörishofen) and Austria (HKS GmbH, Lengau).

HKS and ABJ alive GmbH, which has been part of the NORD Holding portfolio since last year, will become the first members of the new 1Q Health Group. With this strategic expansion, NORD Holding is continuing its targeted investment strategy in the CDMO sector for food supplements and pharmaceuticals.

BPG Beratungs- und Prüfungsgesellschaft mbH (Crowe BPG) advised NORD Holding on the transaction. The financial team of Crowe BPG (crowe-bpg.de), which was responsible for the financial due diligence and the commercial negotiation of the purchase agreement, consisted of Andreas Hoffmann (auditor and managing director (overall management)), Martin Brinkfort (Senior Manager, Financial) and Philipp Jans (Senior Associate, Financial). The preparation of the tax due diligence and tax advice for the transaction was led by Crowe BPG through Dr. Philipp Kruse (tax advisor and managing director) in cooperation with Andreas Maier (auditor, tax advisor and managing director) and Gabriele Sprinzl (auditor/tax advisor) from Crowe SOT (crowe-sot.at).

Source: Deal Advisors by Majunke