CONTEXT
A private equity-backed mid-cap healthcare company had built a franchise of pharmacies operating under a common brand in the French market. It combined negotiated supplier terms with a widening range of marketing, digital, HR and scientific services. Led by a newly appointed CEO, the company was preparing for a sale. As a previous exit attempt had failed, it needed to reset its equity story before returning to market.
Accellency’s diagnosis identified two critical symptoms of an equity story lagging behind the reality of the business:
1. Growth outperformance in a flat market : The company was growing at close to 10% a year, while the pharmacy market grew at only 1 to 2%. Presented as outperformance, the gap invited buyers who compared the company with pharmacy networks to ask how long it could keep beating its market.
2. A previous failed exit: A first sale process had not led to a transaction a few years ago. The asset could not afford a second failure, so the relaunch had to rest on a story buyers could not misread.
APPROACH
Accellency deployed its systematic 8-step equity story methodology. It started with a kick-off alongside the sponsor, followed by six workshops with the senior management team in less than three weeks. The resulting positioning was presented to both management and shareholders.
The diagnosis turned the first symptom on its head: the company was not outperforming its market; it was operating a different business model. The new equity story rested on three moves:
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From pharmacy network to integrated platform: Accellency repositioned the company as an integrated platform for pharmacists. It combined the supplier commissions of a traditional pharmacy network with add-on services sold as annual subscriptions. Growth came from two engines, recruiting new members and growing existing members’ business, rather than from the market.
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The right comparables: The story was anchored to scalable, asset-light platform models with recurring revenues and loyal members, rather than to low-growth pharmacy benchmarks. Accellency also identified the KPIs needed to prove that pharmacists preferred the platform, such as retention rates.
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A longer runway: Future growth was anchored in three sources: a larger addressable market, structural trends such as the growing weight of non-prescription sales and pharmacists’ expanding role in patient care, and targeted build-up opportunities.
To give the second process every chance of success, Accellency turned the new positioning into a full set of sale materials: an equity story memo, a teaser presentation with a fully scripted voice-over, an elevator pitch, and a Q&A in which every answer loops back to the equity story. Three coaching sessions prepared the CEO and key speakers ahead of buyer meetings and appointment of an investment bank.
The whole process had lasted 3 months, from kick-off to exit readiness, and paved the way for the transaction process.
RESULTS
The relaunched process resulted in the full sale of the company to another private equity fund at 15x EBITDA within 6 months, at a higher valuation than the seller had originally expected.
Management and shareholders endorsed the new equity story and fully implemented Accellency’s recommendations in the sale materials. The transaction advisors and the investment community received the story much better. Buyers could understand the platform’s growth drivers and its larger addressable market. Backed by scripted materials and dedicated coaching, CEO and management team delivered a clear and consistent equity story to buyers throughout the process.
