Bentley Buys Key Suppliers and Engages Employees in Planned IPO

Acquisition of the Swiss medical technology company Qmedics enables further expansion - planned IPO in Sweden secures independence - 15 million euro incentive program turns employees into shareholders

 Hechingen, Friday, April 21, 2023. Public holiday for Bentley and its 285 employees: Managing Director Sebastian Büchert used a company excursion to the Stuttgart SI Center this Friday (April 21) to reveal three major projects that are future-oriented for the Hechingen-based medical technology company. The short version: Bentley buys its main supplier, Qmedics AG from Switzerland; Bentley plans to go public under a new Swedish holding company at the stock exchange in Stockholm; and Bentley makes its employees shareholders via an incentive program valued €15 Mio.

The first project bears the tile BeMatched. What fits together really well is the purchase of the Swiss medical technology company Qmedics AG from Flurlingen near Schaffhausen. The company has almost 100 employees and is the most important supplier of the specialists for innovative vascular implants from Hechingen. Qmedics manufactures approximately 80% of all balloon catheters used in conjunction with Bentley's covered stents. Bentley, in turn, is responsible for about 70% of the Swiss company's sales.

The acquisition, which was signed on Friday the 21st of April and will come into effect on July 3, 2023, is extremely important for Bentley in order to secure the central supply chain for balloon catheters in the long term. Another aspect: in addition to balloon catheters, Qmedics has a complete portfolio of self-expanding stents for peripheral endovascular procedures. The acquisition of Qmedics thus represents an opportunity for Bentley to accelerate its expansion into the field of interventional radiology. To this end, Qmedics will relocate from Flurlingen to Frauenfeld in the canton of Thurgau in autumn and move into one of the largest clean rooms in Switzerland, measuring 2,400 square meters.

Prof. Dr. Anita Patteet, current and future CEO of Qmedics, said: “I am very pleased that the future of Qmedics is in good hands with Bentley. Together we will certainly be able to celebrate further market successes.”

Sebastian Büchert, CEO at Bentley, says: "With the acquisition of Qmedics, we not only ensure the availability of one of our most important components, but at the same time complete our newly created product portfolio for interventional radiology." 

BeThundered is the title of the second project. The thunderbolt that looms is Bentley's planned initial public offering (IPO). In the 14th year of its success story, Bentley is preparing to go public, on the one hand to generate new money for its further expansion and on the other hand to prevent the company from being sold. 

Lars Sunnanväder explains: "We look forward to the planned IPO of Bentley because it will not only support further expansion, but at the same time ensures that Bentley remains an independent company in the future." 

Bentley CEO Sebastian Büchert classifies this next big step as follows: “Bentley’s team has been able to achieve a lot together in recent years. Now that our independence is secured for the future, I firmly believe that our success will continue for many years to come. I am also pleased that the positive influence of the Sunnanväder family can also be ensured for the future by handing over the chairmanship of the Advisory Board from Lars Sunnanväder to his daughter Annika.” 

The planned IPO intends to be completed on the Swedish stock exchange, a part of Nasdaq Nordic, an offshoot of the US technology exchange Nasdaq, which Büchert says is "particularly well suited for IPOs by medical technology companies of our size." A Swedish holding company was set up for the upcoming IPO, which is temporarily called BeThundered AB. This holding company becomes 100% owner of both Bentley Innomed GmbH from Hechingen and Qmedics AG, which thus operates as Bentley's sister company. The holding company is managed by a team of three: Sebastian Buchert as CEO, Andrew Brabner as CFO (for finance) and Christian Bader as CTO (for technical management). 

The pre-IPO, the first step in an IPO, is scheduled for the summer 2023. The actual IPO is planned for the autumn/winter 2023/2024, depending on market conditions. 

Important for the Neckar-Alb region: Although Bentley is moving under the umbrella of a Swedish holding company, the company will continue to pay its trade taxes in Hechingen in the future. The location can even look forward to further strengthening: the spatial expansion will be secured with the fresh capital that Bentley expects from the IPO project. "Planning for the next building section is in full swing," says Sebastian Büchert. 

BeShareholder is called project number three. The call to become a shareholder is aimed at the soon to be 400 employees of the new Bentley Group. However, they don't even have to do anything for it. Because Bentley is launching a €15 Mio employee program to make all of its employees shareholders. At the townhall meeting on Friday, every employee received a promise to receive shares worth around 400 euros (plus/minus 100 euros) per month of their affiliation with the company at the time of the IPO. This means that anyone who has been with the company for eight years as a full-time employee, regardless of their position, can 

look forward to a share gift worth almost 40,000 euros - gross for net, because Bentley assumes the tax burden of the "monetary benefit" for its employees. This is to ensure that employees are rewarded for their good work and continue to benefit from Bentley's development. 

Managing Director Sebastian Büchert explains: “Bentley's management is very pleased that the previous shareholders have agreed to give the Bentley staff this share gift. Our employees really deserve this for their great work over the past few years.” 

Info Cabinets 

Bentley employees were completely surprised when the news was announced. They found out about the three projects on Friday, 21 April on a trip to the SI Centre in Stuttgart. There they witnessed a town hall meeting in the Musical Hall, during which their future as Bentley shareholders was revealed to them with the presentation of a symbolic golden credit card. A dinner, the performance of the musical "Dance of the Vampires" and a party rounded off the holiday for the Bentley family. 

About Bentley 

Bentley was founded in 2009 by medical entrepreneurs Lars Sunnanväder and Miko Obradovic. The company has seen substantial growth since the launch of its first product in 2012, and today operates a global distribution network in more than 70 countries. The five top-line products in Bentley’s portfolio are: 

• BeGraft coronary (2012) 

• BeGraft peripheral: first generation (2013); second generation (2015) 

• BeSmooth peripheral (2014) 

• BeGraft aortic (2016) 

• BeGraft PLUS (2017) 

• BeYond (2020) 

• BeBack crossing catheter (2023) 

Contact: Matthias Bleesen, Communication & Event Coordinator, M.Bleesen@bentley.global