Flexstone Expands Portfolio with Stakes in Power Services and Biotech

Flexstone Partners has added two portfolio companies to its global investment platform; one in the US and one in Europe.

Flexstone, a co-investment specialist and affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, has bought a $10m stake in Ohio-based Thayer Power & Communication, which provides repair, maintenance, and upgrade services to utility and telecoms companies. Flexstone has also co-invested in Polyplus, a leading French biotechnology company that supports the development of new treatments with innovative nucleic acid transfection solutions.

Thayer operates in seven US states, providing outsourced power services, wire telecoms services and wireless telecoms. The company’s strong safety culture has been key to winning and retaining clients. “Safety is a critical component of its success, given the danger of working with live power lines,” says Anatoli Gavrilov, Senior Vice President, Investments, at Flexstone Partners. “Thayer has won a number of blue-chip clients which you can only do with a great safety record. Once you have these clients, you have them for life as long as you maintain your record.”

Whereas some investors shy away from companies with strong union representation, Flexstone was attracted by Thayer’s unionised workforce. Although non-unionised workers can be cheaper, union workers receive in-depth training in both technical and safety aspects of their work, leading to high productivity and fewer adverse incidents.

Over the last 20 years, Polyplus has developed breakthrough transfection solutions for the delivery of nucleic acids for research and the production of therapeutic drugs and vaccines. This investment will contribute to accelerate Polyplus’ expansion and foster the development of therapeutic innovations.

Polyplus has grown organically and already enjoys strong market positions. “Polyplus is a “trophy asset”, operating in a niche market which is growing fast,” says Rudy Chappe, Paris-based Senior Vice President, Investments, at Flexstone. “Polyplus’s technology is at the core of many drugs and vaccines currently in development.”

Thayer too has mainly grown organically up until now. Most of its executives previously worked in the field, servicing wire and wireless utilities, and their practical, solutions-oriented approach has won them several high-profile clients. Notably, it has been hired by Verizon in the US telecoms operator’s roll-out of its 5G fiber network and by American Electric Power, one of the largest investor-owned electric public utility holding companies serving more than 5m customers.

For further reading:

• Flexstone Partners wins USD100m private equity mandate with Hostplus
• Flexstone Invests in Two Deals in US and Europe