In 2024 Oakley Capital agreed the strategic combination of portfolio company, WindStar Medical (“WindStar”) with Merz Lifecare to create one of the leading providers of over-the-counter (“OTC”) health and wellbeing products in the DACH region.
Founded in 1993, Windstar Medical has a history of establishing best-in-class medical formulations. WindStar offers a wide range of premium high-growth branded products in Germany and beyond, including SOS and Zirkulin.
Oakley invested in WindStar in 2020 to scale the business through continued product innovation and organic growth. The combination with Merz Lifecare adds strong brands such as tetesept and Merz Spezial to the group’s Consumer Healthcare portfolio.
Merz Lifecare benefits from the long-term structural growth of the DACH region’s consumer health market. This growth is being driven both by demographic trends, such as an ageing population, and a shift in consumer preferences driven by factors such as increased awareness of physical and mental wellbeing and willingness to prevent illness.
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