International investors in the dental health sector are making inroads in Spain. US healthcare fund Avista Capital Partners has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Barcelona-based dental prosthetics provider Terrats Medical.

The Catalan company had experienced strong growth in recent years since the entry of the Spanish fund Miura Partners as a shareholder. Now, the founders have announced a reinvestment to further support the next phase of growth, while Miura will retain a minority stake.

Terrats Medical has been producing precision components since 1947, and, entered the dental prosthetics industry in 2008 by producing attachments and implants. It currently offers over 3,300 products marketed in more than 50 countries, with 95% of its production being exported.

Since Miura's investment in 2020, it has tripled its sales through various initiatives, such as boosting direct sales, launching its implant line and working with two distributors in the US and Sweden.

Continuity of investment
Terrats Medical CEO Roger Terrats, described the incorporation of Avista Capital Partners as “a strong support for the continuity of the project started in 2008, and continued in 2020 with the entry of Miura Partners”, and explained, “Our vision for the next phase will be very focused on continuity and global growth, with a world-class product and sales network that will be strengthened in the coming years. In addition, we will continue to invest in the production plant and in the team.”

Sriram Venkataraman, Partner at Avista Capital Partners, said, “Terrats has earned its leadership position with a consistent value proposition based on high-quality products at affordable prices. The company is well positioned to accelerate its growth thanks to favourable market trends, such as the increasing demand for dental prosthetics.”

Technology and RD&I from South Korea
This was not the only major news in the dental industry. The Korean giant Osstem Implant recently announced its arrival in Spain and its intention to become a world leader by 2036 through opening new subsidiaries in Europe. The company markets dental implants, prosthetic and implant production technology and other products, such as intraoral scanners and X-ray units.

Osstem earmarks 11% of its revenue for RD&I, and has 15 laboratories. It also promotes training in the industry worldwide through its OIC (Osstem Implant Courses) academy. It now claims to be the largest dental implant manufacturer in South Korea and the third largest in the world, with a 10% market share. Although it took the first step towards setting up in Spain a year ago, it is now taking advantage of the Expodental fair in Ifema (Madrid) to officially introduce itself to the Spanish industry.

^{Photo: Terrats Medical}