Deal Spotlight – Simont Braun: Cross-Border Private Equity M&A in Belgium's Life Sciences Sector

The firm advised Kristiaan Vanhercke, CEO and founder of MindCapture, on the sale of the life sciences and cleantech consultancy agency to Sisu Group, a portfolio company of Belgian private equity firm Down 2 Earth Capital.

Founded more than ten years ago and headquartered in Ghent, MindCapture has built a well-established presence in Flanders, with a team of 50 seasoned consultants serving pharmaceutical, biotech, med-tech and cleantech companies across the full spectrum of the industry, from research and development through to commercialisation.

Through the acquisition, Sisu Group significantly strengthens Strand, its life sciences business unit. The combined operation brings together some 240 consultants — a 30% increase in consultancy capacity — with a portfolio of more than 75 clients and nationwide coverage across key hubs in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent. The transaction follows Sisu Group's established buy-and-build strategy and accelerates its ambition to become the reference partner for life sciences consultancy in Belgium.

Both businesses will continue to operate under their respective brands and from their existing offices. Kristiaan Vanhercke will continue to lead MindCapture alongside incoming Business Director Tom Lammens during a transition period, after which he will remain on board as a strategic advisor to the group. Commenting on the deal, Mr Vanhercke noted that the combination positions the businesses to better support clients and to create opportunities for consultants, with both organisations sharing a people-first mindset.

Read the full communication from MindCapture here.

AGA's Deal Spotlight series highlights recent work from across the Alliance. In this instance, the deal was led by Partner, Tom Swinnen together with Julie Braeckman at Simont Braun.

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About Simont Braun:

Simont Braun is an independent, full-service business law firm based in Brussels and is Alliott Global Alliance's exclusive law firm representative in Belgium. The firm advises Belgian and international clients across corporate and M&A, banking and finance, digital finance, intellectual property, real estate, and dispute resolution, and is consistently recommended by leading national and international legal directories.