Irvine, CA – December 2, 2020 —

Smile Brands Inc. announced today that it completed the acquisition of Midwest Dental, a Dental Services Organization (“DSO”) with over 230 offices located primarily in the upper Midwest and New England regions. Smile Brands is a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors (“Gryphon”), a leading middle-market private equity firm based in San Francisco, CA. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The combined company is one of the largest DSOs in the country, representing 650 offices and over 8,000 employees, including 2,200 dentists and hygienists operating in 30 states.

Steve Bilt, CEO of Smile Brands, said, “Our combination with Midwest Dental is a game changer for Smile Brands, and highly impactful to our industry, increasing Smile Brands’ scale and footprint by over 50% while furthering our mission of delivering ‘Smiles for Everyone.’ Midwest Dental is a top-10 DSO nationwide and a long-standing market leader. We believe the combined company will continue to deliver best-in-class support to dental practices, and thereby patient care to individuals and families nationwide, and be ideally positioned for future growth.”

Midwest Dental, founded in 1968 and based in Mondovi, WI, provides general dentistry, hygiene, and specialty dental services through a network of over 230 offices. With a staff of 2,300, Midwest Dental operates in 17 states through four brands: Midwest Dental, Mondovi Dental, Merit Dental, and Mountain Dental. Smile Brands will retain Midwest Dental’s brand identity and strong company culture, and Smile Brands’ management is very excited to work with the talented leadership team at Midwest Dental to deliver best in class support to the Midwest Dental and Smile Brands clinical teams. The combined company will continue to provide full-service administrative support to the company’s affiliated dental practices, including recruiting, purchasing, payroll, accounting, IT, billing, facilities management, and marketing.

Dr. Robert Crim, Smile Brands’ Chief Dental Officer, added, “It has certainly been a challenging year globally. The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted dental practices nationwide, including both Smile Brands and Midwest Dental. Both companies have instituted exceptional safety measures, which allowed Smile Brands and Midwest Dental to re-open rapidly following the initial stages of the pandemic and provide needed care to patients with acute dental needs. Dentistry is now correctly viewed as an essential service and vital component of the healthcare services landscape for American families, and we expect the industry to experience continued strong fundamentals and steady volumes.”

Luke Schroeder, Gryphon Deal Partner and Co-Head of Gryphon’s Healthcare Group, said, “The transaction is highly strategic for Smile Brands, which has a successful 20-year track record of growth through M&A. We believe that the pace of consolidation in the dental industry will quicken as a result of the pandemic, and Smile Brands is ideally positioned to support an increasing number of high-quality dental providers based on its unique history of successfully completing large corporate combinations.”

Kirkland & Ellis provided legal advice to Gryphon and Smile Brands. Harris Williams provided financial advice and Willkie Farr & Gallagher provided legal advice to Midwest Dental.

About Midwest Dental
Founded in 1968 and based in Mondovi, WI, Midwest Dental (www.midwest-dental.com) is a top-10 nationwide DSO with over 230 dental practices under 4 regional brands across 17 states. The company is focused on providing general dentistry, hygiene, and specialty dental services through four brands: Midwest Dental, Mondovi Dental, Merit Dental, and Mountain Dental.

About Smile Brands
Based in Irvine California, Smile Brands Inc. is one of the largest providers of support services to dental groups in the United States. Smile Brands provides comprehensive business support services through exclusive long-term agreements with affiliate dental groups, so dentists can spend more time caring for their patients and less time on the administrative, marketing, and financial aspects of operating a dental practice. The organization was founded in 1998 by a management team that included co-founder and CEO Steve Bilt and CFO Brad Schmidt and supports approximately 420 affiliated practices, with more than 700 dentists across 18 states. For more information, visit www.smilebrands.com.

About Gryphon Investors
Based in San Francisco, Gryphon Investors is a leading private equity firm focused on growing and enhancing mid-market companies in partnership with management. The firm has managed over $5 billion of equity investments and capital since 1997. Gryphon targets making equity investments of $50 million to $300 million in portfolio companies with sales ranging from approximately $100 million to $600 million. Gryphon prioritizes investment opportunities where it can form strong partnerships with owners and executives to build leading companies, utilizing Gryphon’s capital, specialized professional resources, and operational expertise. For more information, visit www.gryphoninvestors.com.

San Francisco, CA – December 1, 2020 —

Gryphon Investors (“Gryphon”), a San Francisco-based private equity firm, announced today that it has completed the sale of its portfolio company Matrixx Initiatives, Inc. (“Matrixx” or “the Company”) to Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE: CHD), a leading consumer packaged goods company. Gryphon originally invested in the Company in December 2017.

Matrixx, headquartered in Bridgewater, NJ, makes and markets over-the-counter remedies, including the best-selling Zicam® cold remedy brand, to shorten colds and treat nasal congestion and allergies.

Keith Stimson, Deal Partner and Head of Gryphon’s Heritage Fund, noted, “We are extremely pleased with the outcome of this transaction, our second investment in the Consumer Health space in partnership with Steve LaMonte and Dr. John Clayton.” Gryphon previously successfully exited its investment in C.B. Fleet Company, Inc. to Prestige Brands in December 2016.

Mr. LaMonte, Exclusive Executive Advisor to Gryphon and Executive Chairman of Matrixx, said, “Under Gryphon’s ownership, we have instituted numerous strategic and operational enhancements to create value. Foremost among those is the appointment of Marc Rovner as CEO. Marc has assembled a terrific management team and helped the Company accelerate its value creation initiatives, including new product innovation, growth with our retail partners, and aggressive efforts to build out e-commerce channels through investments in digital marketing and social influencer programs.”

Mr. Rovner added, “Our team has had tremendous success based on Gryphon’s investment thesis, growing Zicam’s share of the cough and cold category in a short amount of time and achieving our growth objectives on an accelerated timeline. This growth wouldn’t have been possible without the support of a sponsor like Gryphon, who brought differentiated experience and expertise in the Consumer Health sector to the Board.”

Ryan Fagan, Senior Vice President at Gryphon, added, “Matrixx is a great case study for Gryphon’s proactive sector initiative to identify and invest behind leading brands and experienced executives in Consumer Health. This category will continue to be a focus area for us in the future.”

Sawaya Partners, LLC acted as financial advisor to Gryphon, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as Gryphon’s legal counsel.

About Matrixx Initiatives, Inc.
Matrixx is engaged in the development and marketing of over-the-counter health care products that utilize innovative drug delivery systems. The company manufactures and markets a full line of Zicam brand Homeopathic and Allopathic OTC products, including its clinically proven ZICAM® Cold Remedy Nasal Spray and Swab, ZICAM® Cold Remedy RAPIDMELTS®, ZICAM® Cold Remedy Medicated Fruit Drops, ZICAM® Extreme Congestion Relief, and ZICAM® Intense Sinus Relief. For more information regarding Matrixx products, please visit www.zicam.com.

About Gryphon Investors
Based in San Francisco, Gryphon Investors is a leading private equity firm focused on growing and enhancing mid-market companies in partnership with management. The firm has managed over $5 billion of equity investments and capital since 1997. Gryphon targets making equity investments of $50 million to $300 million in portfolio companies with sales ranging from approximately $100 million to $600 million. Gryphon prioritizes investment opportunities where it can form strong partnerships with owners and executives to build leading companies, utilizing Gryphon’s capital, specialized professional resources, and operational expertise. For more information, visit www.gryphoninvestors.com.

30/11/2020 – 08:00 | Portfolio

Paragon Partners, one of the leading private equity firms in Europe, together with French co-investor Chequers Capital, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in 7days Group, a leading supplier of medical workwear. The management team, led by CEO Ulrich Dölken, will significantly re-invest as part of this transaction.

With the support of its new majority shareholders, Paragon and Chequers, 7days plans to further accelerate its growth trajectory in Germany and the rest of Europe in the coming years. 7days will benefit from continuing strong market trends such as the increasing professionalization of medical workwear and increased hygiene awareness in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which promise future growth potential in a fragmented market.

Marco Attolini, Managing Partner at Paragon, says: “We have been deeply impressed by the attractive market dynamics and the outstanding positioning that 7days has achieved in recent years through its highest quality products and strong customer focus. We look forward to actively shaping the further development and growth of the 7days Group in partnership with management.“

Ulrich Dölken and Carsten Meyer, CEO and CFO of 7days Group: “With the support of our new partners, Paragon and Chequers, we want to continue to achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction with high-quality workwear for medical professionals. We are pleased to have two strong partners at our side, who will help us further expand our market position in the coming years.“

About 7days
7days was founded in 1999 in Lotte near Osnabrück. Today, the company is a leading supplier of modern and innovative workwear for medical professions. 7days designs, produces and distributes a wide range of high-quality workwear, from tunics to lab coats, for more than 300,000 customers in the healthcare sector in twelve countries, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. 7days has a vertically integrated business model with diversified supply chains and distributes its products through a fully integrated multi-channel distribution platform, including both catalog marketing and e-commerce channels. This has enabled the company to achieve consistent growth in its German home market and internationally. Today, 7days employs 240 people and is expected to generate sales of over €40 million in 2020. Further details can be found on the company website: www.7days.de

About Paragon
Founded in 2004, Paragon is one of the leading independent private equity firms in Europe, with more than EUR 1.2 billion of equity under management. Paragon works closely with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth and operational excellence. The investment portfolio covers various industries and currently comprises 15 companies. The firm is based in Munich, Germany.