Oakley Capital Fund V, one of the funds that make up the portfolio of Oakley Capital Investments, has agreed to acquire Flemming Dental, Excent, and Artinorway Group in a carve-out from European Dental Group, a leading pan-European oral care and services provider. In combination, these will form one of the leading dental laboratories groups in Europe. The European dental lab market is large and growing with strong customer stickiness, valued at approximately €10bn today, and is also highly fragmented offering compelling opportunities for value creation through buy-and-build, which is an area Oakley has extensive expertise in.
The combined company provides a comprehensive range of services, including the design and manufacture of dental prostheses (crowns, bridges and dentures) and orthodontics (braces, retainers and aligners), utilising technology including CAD software, computer-aided milling and 3D printing, as well as local craftmanship. The company currently services c.5,000 clinics across nearly 70 dental laboratories throughout Europe.
Oakley will work closely with the management to establish Flemming Dental, Excent and Artinorway Group as an independent business and to become a leader in the global dental lab market.
As we explained in our April 2023 note, one of Oakley’s strengths is in its network of entrepreneurs. In this case, Oakley is partnering with Hidde Hoeve, the co-founder of Excent Tandtechniek, a group of dental laboratories acquired by EDG in 2018. Their plan is for the execution of an ambitious growth strategy, driven by organic growth, international expansion and targeted M&A.
Flemming Dental, Excent and Artinorway Group will benefit from Oakley’s extensive expertise in digitalisation, helping it to capitalise on technological innovation in the dental lab industry and the rapid digital transformation of the market. Fund V’s investment will enable it to accelerate innovation and the adoption of cutting-edge technology, providing solutions with unparalleled precision for dental clinics and their patients across Europe and beyond.
OCI : Oakley invests in dental labs