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Health auction checkup

Illustration of a caduceus wrapped around a pen next to a small notepad

Amika's market test

an illustration of ben franklin brushing his hair

Japan's "cool science"

Photo illustration of Ken Horne collaged with abstract shapes and a map of Asia.

Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photo: Courtesy of Ken Horne

Driving the day

The final numbers

Reporting on PCI Pharma's $10 billion deal and Arcadia's buyout got me thinking about PE-backed auctions that have seemingly gone quiet. 

Why it matters: Launching a sale process is one thing — getting the deal across the finish line is another. 

GTCR was seeking a $1 billion-plus valuation for health data company Cedar Gate Technologies, per an April report. 

Final bids were reportedly due in May, but the company has yet to sign a deal, one source tells me. GTCR did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Cedar Gate plays in two extremely active areas of health care investment — data analytics and revenue cycle management.

One of the 800-pound gorillas in health data is sponsor-backed Datavant, which has been on a buying tear over the last year and is on some bankers' shortlist to IPO. Meanwhile, New Mountain created a $6 billion RCM platform called Smarter Technologies earlier this year.

GHO was prepping its clinical trial services company Velocity for auction last year, Axios Pro reported. The company was going to launch at the JPMorgan Health Conference in January, but that got pushed out, sources tell me. GHO declined to comment.

Velocity's competitors have seen mixed results in market. NMS Capital sold Flourish, marketed on about $40 million of EBITDA, to Genstar for a high teens multiple last year, two sources say. Genstar declined to comment. 

Meanwhile, Webster had to hit pause on its auction for CenExel before eventually selling it to BayPine in April.

The bottom line: Deal negotiations are taking longer, and auction timelines are more fluid than ever.

1. Health auction checkup

Bansk-backed hair care business Amika has hired Raymond James to test the market, four sources tell Axios Pro. 

Why it matters: It's another beauty and personal care brand potentially looking to get off the sidelines. 

Yes, but: Timing is fluid — sound familiar? — but the business is not being actively being shopped yet. 

Amika, Bansk and Raymond James declined to comment. 

Zoom in: Private equity firm Bansk took a majority stake in Amika in 2022 for an undisclosed amount, calling the brand "one of the largest independent haircare brands in the U.S."

The brand, which considers itself a "clean" hair care product, is sold in retailers like Sephora and Amazon, as well as directly to hair salons and professionals.

Catch up quick: Beauty is in a bit of a boom period. Fragrance brand Phlur is also working with Raymond James to find a buyer, alongside the makeup brands Rare Beauty and Makeup by Mario.

e.l.f. in May agreed to buy Hailey Bieber's Rhode brand for up to $1 billion.

L'Oreal in June said it plans to buy skin care company Medik8 for a reported €1 billion.

Unilever agreed to buy the natural soap brand Dr. Squatch from Summit Partners for $1.5 billion.

Between the lines: Strategic buyers have been leading the deal charge, and they've been seemingly disciplined on price.

Dr. Squatch's valuation is a haircut from the $2 billion Summit was reportedly looking for.

Rhode was only able to get across the finish line with a mix of equity and earnouts.

The bottom line: Amika plays in an attractive — but crowded — field.

2. Amika's market test

AN Venture Partners, led by managing partner Ken Horne, raised a $200 million fund this month to invest in Japanese biotech companies.

Why it matters: Horne, who speaks fluent Japanese, believes the market offers an "untapped source" of scientific innovation where few other investors are focused.

Context: AN Venture Partners has invested in seven startups so far, with plans for about eight more, with check sizes ranging from $250,000 to $10 million.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Axios: What opportunities do you see in Japan?

"Big Pharma in Japan has done really well globally in terms of producing blockbuster drugs, but there really isn't a biotech ecosystem there.

This is kind of what led to my forming AN Ventures. There's cool science in Japan, but the playground isn't big enough. The ecosystem isn't developed enough to really build global successes yet. And so, how do you break that chicken-and-the-egg cycle? Let's do cross-border work with the U.S. ecosystem."

"The end goal for companies that we start and initiate is to have them look like any other U.S. biotech company in their own individual and unique, innovative way.

But for the majority of our fund, those companies have scientific origins in Japan."

How did you discover this cross-border strategy?

"Because of the pandemic and not being able to go back and forth to Japan because of travel restrictions, I was sort of forced into this cross-border approach of working with Japanese science and founders. 

But really leveraging the U.S. biotech ecosystem, expert consultants, VCs, etc., here to build these cross-border opportunities.

That was sort of an enlightening moment for me."

The Japanese government is investing in startup infrastructure to kickstart its economy. How did that activity help convince LPs to invest with AN Venture Partners?

"There's a lot of kindling and a lot of wood that has been placed by the government.

When we talk to LPs, we say, 'Look at all these initiatives that are going on.' And at the same time, especially more recently, the U.S. is [going in] the opposite direction. Research institutions, academia are getting less and less funding. The regulatory environment is changing.

Japan became the focus of curiosity for many LPs."

AN Venture Partners was founded in 2022 in alliance with Arch Venture Partners. How has the firm influenced your approach?

"Having come out of Chicago, which isn't known as a biotech hotbed, Arch has historically had this 'go look under the stones other people aren't looking at' approach."

AN Venture Partners and Arch both participated in City Therapeutics' $135 million Series A last year. Will you invest together again?

"There's a close relationship there. I could only imagine that there'll be more co-investments in the future."

Will biotech startups continue to struggle to raise VC in the back half of 2025?

"It'll still be hard in 2025. The IPO market is still challenging."

"My hope is that towards the end of the year, some of the hangover effects from the last boom cycle start to clear out."

🍣 Favorite Japanese food: Chutoro, which is sushi made from the medium-fatty part of the Pacific bluefin tuna belly.

"My mother's family is all from the Tokyo area. I spent all my summers growing up in Japan."

3. Japan's "cool science"

💰 Navex $2.5B-plus stake sale (Chris Metinko)

BC Partners is reportedly selling a majority stake in Navex to a Goldman Sachs Asset Management-led consortium.

🐂 Organic fertilizer funding (Katie Fehrenbacher)

Nitricity's $63 million raise is a vote of confidence in the face of an agtech funding slump 

The U.S. IPO market had its best first half of the year since 2021, per EY.

4. Driving the day

Adapted from a SPAC Insider report; Chart: Axios Visuals

So far this year, SPACs made up about 39% of all IPOs. In 2021, it was 64%, per data from SPACInsider.

Investors are hungry for new listings, and the SPACs' reputational woes aren't keeping them away.

July 18, 2025

1. Health auction checkup