UK lower mid-market private equity firm Kester Capital has acquired AxTalis, a Belgium-based consulting services provider to the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors, and North Carolina-based Polaris Compliance Consultants on behalf of its portfolio companies MAP Patient Access and GXP Engaged respectively. 

The acquisitions were enabled by Kester’s latest fund, Kester Capital III, according to a press release. The fund closed at its £200m hard cap in March.

Kester Capital said that the AxTalis add-on would “complement MAP’s existing presence in the UK and Ireland” in building a pan-European business, while Polaris would combine with GXP’s newly formed US entity and expand the firm’s presence beyond the UK, Europe and Asian markets.