Astorg co-managing partner Judith Charpentier says the firm has refocused on its core mid-market segment to maximize exit optionality amid a volatile macro backdrop. While the valuation gap between buyers and sellers is "slightly reducing," extended holding periods—now averaging over seven years—pressure GPs to return cash to LPs.

Astorg's fully invested Fund VII, raised in 2019, sits at a 0.7x DPI with a target of 1x next year. The fund has executed three exits generating €3bn in proceeds at a 2.8x money multiple, including Normec (moved to a €1.4bn continuation fund), Anaqua (sold to Nordic Capital), and Clario (sold alongside Nordic, Novo Holdings and Cinven to Thermo Fisher for nearly $9 billion).

The firm is deploying capital from its €4.4 billion Fund VIII and €1.3 billion Mid-Cap fund, targeting value dislocations in public medtech markets. A recent carve-out of Thermo Fisher's microbiology business for $1.075 billion at 9.4x EBITDA exemplifies Astorg's focus on complex, proprietary transactions in resilient healthcare categories.

AI serves as a value-creation enabler across the portfolio, with a 20-person performance team adding eight AI specialists by year-end. Efficiency gains of 30% have been observed, generating €30 million of EBITDA last year, with a goal to double that figure in 2025.