Tag Archives: healthcare

New Harbor Capital Announces Sale of Wedgewood Pharmacy

New Harbour

New Harbor Capital is pleased to announce that it has signed a definitive agreement for the sale of Wedgewood Pharmacy (“Wedgewood” or “the Company”) to Partners Group, a leading global private markets investment manager, on behalf of its clients. The transaction is expected to close in 2021.

Founded in 1980, Wedgewood is one of the largest providers of compounded animal medications for acute and chronic conditions in the US and employs over 700 people in New Jersey, California, Colorado, and Arizona. Compounded medications are created and prepared by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians when there is no commercially available alternative. The Company holds relationships with over 66,000 veterinarians and directly serves more than 360,000 pet parents annually.  Wedgewood has a broad and diverse portfolio of offerings, holds strategic partnerships with veterinary corporate groups, and offers a defined value proposition to veterinary clinics and pet owners.

Wedgewood has experienced a period of significant growth during New Harbor’s investment. This growth is credited to strategic investments in pharmacy facilities, quality, technology, and management, including:

  • More than doubling the physical size of its New Jersey pharmacy operations including significant investments in automation;
  • The acquisition of its largest independent competitor, Diamondback Drugs, which positioned Wedgewood as the partner of choice with corporate veterinary groups;
  • Significant investments in technology to streamline customer and prescriber interactions;
  • The acquisition of an FDA registered 503B outsourcing facility;
  • The acquisition of Zoopharm/Wildlife which provided access to new markets and strategic proprietary products; and
  • Meaningful organizational growth with key additions to senior leadership and the broader Wedgewood team.

These efforts, combined with significant growth in the animal health market resulting from the continued trend toward the humanization of pets, resulted in Wedgewood nearly tripling in revenues in less than five years.

“We sincerely enjoyed working with CEO, Marcy Bliss, and the entire Wedgewood team over the last five years,” said Jocelyn Stanley, Partner at New Harbor. “We greatly value their partnership and shared commitment to growth, excellence, and collaboration. It has been a privilege supporting the company during this exciting growth phase and we wish them great success moving forward.”

“I will be forever grateful to New Harbor for their passion for our mission to improve the lives of animals and those who love them,” said Marcy Bliss. “They understood from the beginning the importance of quality, care, and our people, and their investment worked to improve every aspect of what we are able to deliver to our patients, caregivers, and team.”

Lincoln International LLC represented Wedgewood Pharmacy in the sale process, and William Blair & Company, LLC, Reed Smith LLP, and RSM International acted as advisors to the Company. Ropes & Gray LLP and KPMG International Limited acted as advisors to Partners Group.

About Wedgewood Pharmacy

Wedgewood Pharmacy is the largest compounding pharmacy devoted to animal health in the United States. Wedgewood Pharmacy serves more than 60,000 prescribers and hundreds of thousands of patients throughout the U.S. every year. Wedgewood Pharmacy is accredited by the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board (PCAB®) for compliance with PCAB and other nationally recognized compounding standards. Wedgewood Pharmacy employs more than 700 people across facilities in New Jersey, Arizona, California, and Colorado.

For more information, visit www.WedgewoodPharmacy.com.

Categories: News

Tags:

Reneo Pharmaceuticals Raises $95 Million in Series B Financing, Co-led by Novo Ventures and Abingworth

Abingworth

Gregory J. Flesher Appointed President and Chief Executive Officer

SAN DIEGO, December 9, 2020 – Reneo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced it raised $95 million in a Series B financing co-led by Novo Ventures and Abingworth and supported by existing investors New Enterprise Associates, RiverVest Venture Partners, Pappas Capital, and Lundbeckfonden Ventures, as well as new investors Rock Springs Capital, Aisling Capital, Amzak Health, and other investors. Reneo is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies for patients with genetic mitochondrial diseases.

“The Reneo team has done an exceptional job developing REN001, a product that we believe has broad potential in genetic mitochondrial diseases. We look forward to working with the company as they endeavor to bring this product to patients,” said Kenneth Harrison, Partner at Novo Ventures. Bali Muralidhar, Partner at Abingworth added, “We are encouraged by both the nonclinical and clinical data for this potential first-in-class product. With this financing, Reneo will now be able to achieve several key clinical milestones, including completion of a global phase 2 study in primary mitochondrial myopathies.”

Reneo also announced today the appointment of Gregory J. Flesher as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Flesher has more than 25 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience, including senior leadership roles at Novus Therapeutics, Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Intermune, Amgen, and Eli Lilly and Company. Dr. Niall O’Donnell, the founding Chief Executive Officer of Reneo and a managing director at RiverVest Venture Partners, will remain as a member of the Board of Directors.

“We are extremely pleased with the addition of an outstanding investor syndicate as well as a highly experienced CEO,” said Mike Grey, Executive Chairman of Reneo. “We now have the resources and leadership to continue the development of REN001 in several areas of unmet need including primary mitochondrial myopathies, fatty acid oxidation disorders, and McArdle disease.”

“I am honored to be part of such an extraordinary team and a program that has the potential to help the many patients with genetic mitochondrial diseases,” said Mr. Flesher. “I look forward to working with the Board and management team in the coming years as we continue to advance REN001 and grow the company.”

About REN001
REN001 is an oral, once-daily investigational drug known to control several genes involved in mitochondrial activity. Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell, where carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are used to generate the energy the body needs. Reneo is developing REN001 as a first-in-class treatment option to improve cellular energy metabolism by enhancing mitochondrial function and potentially increasing the number of mitochondria.

About Primary Mitochondrial Myopathies (PMM)
Primary mitochondrial myopathies (PMM) are a group of rare, often life-threatening diseases, caused by mutations in mitochondrial or nuclear DNA. These mutations hamper the ability of affected cells to break down food and oxygen and produce energy. There are no approved drugs for the treatment of PMM. Reneo is planning to initiate a global phase 2 clinical trial in PMM in early 2021, with trial sites located in the U.S., Australia, and Europe (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04535609).

About Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorders (FAOD)
Fatty acid oxidation disorders (FAOD) are a group of rare, potentially life-threatening genetic metabolic disorders that affect the body’s ability to use fats from food as a source for energy. Reneo is currently enrolling a REN001 phase 1b clinical trial in FAOD, with trial sites located in the U.S. and Europe (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03833128).

About McArdle Disease
McArdle disease (also known as glycogen storage disease type 5) is a rare genetic metabolic disorder that affects the body’s ability to use muscle glycogen (stored glucose) as a source of energy for skeletal muscles. There are no approved drugs for the treatment of McArdle disease. Reneo is currently enrolling a REN001 phase 1b clinical trial in McArdle disease, with trial sites located in Europe (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04226274).

About Reneo Pharmaceuticals
Reneo Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies for patients with genetic mitochondrial diseases. Many of these diseases are associated with deficiencies in mitochondrial energy production. The company’s goal is to improve daily function and quality of life of patients suffering from these diseases, most specifically, by improving how their mitochondria work, preserving muscle function, and preventing muscle injury, weakness, and wasting. The experienced team of drug development experts, who have collaborated on many successful programs, is dedicated and passionate about finding effective therapies for these complex rare diseases. For more info, please visit reneopharma.com.

About Novo Holdings A/S
Novo Holdings A/S is a private limited liability company wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. It is the holding and investment company of the Novo Group, comprising Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S, and is responsible for managing the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s assets. Novo Holdings is recognized as a leading international life science investor, with a focus on creating long-term value. As a life science investor, Novo Holdings provides seed and venture capital to development-stage companies and takes significant ownership positions in growth and well-established companies. Novo Holdings also manages a broad portfolio of diversified financial assets. For more info, please visit novoholdings.dk.

About Abingworth
Abingworth is a leading transatlantic life sciences investment firm. Abingworth helps transform cutting-edge science into novel medicines by providing capital and expertise to top calibre management teams building world-class companies. Since 1973, Abingworth has invested in 168 life science companies, leading to 44 M&As and 69 IPOs. Our therapeutic focused investments fall into three categories: seed and early-stage, development stage, and clinical co-development. Abingworth supports its portfolio companies with a team of experienced professionals at offices in London, Menlo Park (California), and Boston. For more info, please visit abingworth.com.

Media Contact: Jessica Yingling, Ph.D, Little Dog Communications Inc., jessica@litldog.com, (858) 344-8091

Corporate Contact: Wendy Newman, Head of Advocacy & Communications, Reneo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., wnewman@reneopharma.com, (858) 283-0289

Categories: News

Tags:

Adaptas Solutions Acquires Cadence Fluidics

Acquisition to broaden Adaptas Solutions’ product family of fluidic modules to OEM life science instrument manufacturers

Adaptas Solutions

PALMER, Mass., Dec. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Adaptas Solutions, LLC, a leading manufacturer of critical components for mass spectrometers, analytical lab equipment and clinical instruments, has completed the acquisition of Cadence Fluidics. Cadence Fluidics designs and manufactures custom valves and fluidic subassemblies for life science OEM customers. Cadence Fluidics manufacturing will be transitioned into Adaptas Solutions’ 90,000 square foot ISO 9001:2015 campus in Palmer, MA.

“The addition of Cadence will allow us to continue to elevate our market position in the sample preparation and chromatography markets,” said Jay Ray, President and CEO of Adaptas Solutions. “Similar to Adaptas Solutions’ leading products offered to the mass spectrometer community, we are looking forward to continuing the fast-paced expansion to support Cadence’s industry leading OEM partners, especially in macromolecule purification and separation.”

“I am excited to partner with Adaptas Solutions for the next stage of Cadence Fluidics growth,” said Neil Picha, founder of Cadence Fluidics. “The Adaptas model for continuous innovation will allow us to develop next-generation valves for a multitude of critical industry applications.”

This latest acquisition further enhances the group’s manufacturing and engineering resources and expertise, allowing Adaptas to accelerate OEM client development projects through offering highly customizable products for market-specific applications.

Adaptas Solutions is a portfolio company of Ampersand Capital Partners. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

About Adaptas Solutions, LLC

Adaptas Solutions, LLC is a strategic OEM supplier for key products and manufacturing service for analytical and laboratory equipment manufacturers. Adaptas’ manufacturing vertical integration strategy allows for rapid to-market product development and best in class costing while delivering high quality products and services. Additional information is available at www.adaptas.com 

About Cadence Fluidics

Founded in 2008, Cadence Fluidics is a product developer and manufacturer of custom valve solutions and components for life science OEM customers. Cadence has developed multiple valve combinations to support the sophisticated platforms which include HPLC/UHPLC, mass spectrometry, preparative chromatography, flash chromatography, protein purification and next generation DNA sequencing systems.

About Ampersand Capital Partners

Founded in 1988, Ampersand is a middle market private equity firm with more than $2 billion of assets under management dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector. With offices in Boston and Amsterdam, Ampersand leverages its unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive superior long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams. Ampersand has helped build numerous market-leading companies across each of the firm’s core healthcare sectors. Additional information about Ampersand is available at ampersandcapital.com.

Categories: News

Tags:

Adaptas Solutions Acquires Cadence Fluidics

Acquisition to broaden Adaptas Solutions’ product family of fluidic modules to OEM life science instrument manufacturers

Adaptas Solutions

PALMER, Mass., Dec. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Adaptas Solutions, LLC, a leading manufacturer of critical components for mass spectrometers, analytical lab equipment and clinical instruments, has completed the acquisition of Cadence Fluidics. Cadence Fluidics designs and manufactures custom valves and fluidic subassemblies for life science OEM customers. Cadence Fluidics manufacturing will be transitioned into Adaptas Solutions’ 90,000 square foot ISO 9001:2015 campus in Palmer, MA.

“The addition of Cadence will allow us to continue to elevate our market position in the sample preparation and chromatography markets,” said Jay Ray, President and CEO of Adaptas Solutions. “Similar to Adaptas Solutions’ leading products offered to the mass spectrometer community, we are looking forward to continuing the fast-paced expansion to support Cadence’s industry leading OEM partners, especially in macromolecule purification and separation.”

“I am excited to partner with Adaptas Solutions for the next stage of Cadence Fluidics growth,” said Neil Picha, founder of Cadence Fluidics. “The Adaptas model for continuous innovation will allow us to develop next-generation valves for a multitude of critical industry applications.”

This latest acquisition further enhances the group’s manufacturing and engineering resources and expertise, allowing Adaptas to accelerate OEM client development projects through offering highly customizable products for market-specific applications.

Adaptas Solutions is a portfolio company of Ampersand Capital Partners. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

About Adaptas Solutions, LLC

Adaptas Solutions, LLC is a strategic OEM supplier for key products and manufacturing service for analytical and laboratory equipment manufacturers. Adaptas’ manufacturing vertical integration strategy allows for rapid to-market product development and best in class costing while delivering high quality products and services. Additional information is available at www.adaptas.com 

About Cadence Fluidics

Founded in 2008, Cadence Fluidics is a product developer and manufacturer of custom valve solutions and components for life science OEM customers. Cadence has developed multiple valve combinations to support the sophisticated platforms which include HPLC/UHPLC, mass spectrometry, preparative chromatography, flash chromatography, protein purification and next generation DNA sequencing systems.

About Ampersand Capital Partners

Founded in 1988, Ampersand is a middle market private equity firm with more than $2 billion of assets under management dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector. With offices in Boston and Amsterdam, Ampersand leverages its unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive superior long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams. Ampersand has helped build numerous market-leading companies across each of the firm’s core healthcare sectors. Additional information about Ampersand is available at ampersandcapital.com.

Categories: News

Tags:

Adaptas Solutions Acquires Cadence Fluidics

Acquisition to broaden Adaptas Solutions’ product family of fluidic modules to OEM life science instrument manufacturers

Adaptas Solutions

PALMER, Mass., Dec. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Adaptas Solutions, LLC, a leading manufacturer of critical components for mass spectrometers, analytical lab equipment and clinical instruments, has completed the acquisition of Cadence Fluidics. Cadence Fluidics designs and manufactures custom valves and fluidic subassemblies for life science OEM customers. Cadence Fluidics manufacturing will be transitioned into Adaptas Solutions’ 90,000 square foot ISO 9001:2015 campus in Palmer, MA.

“The addition of Cadence will allow us to continue to elevate our market position in the sample preparation and chromatography markets,” said Jay Ray, President and CEO of Adaptas Solutions. “Similar to Adaptas Solutions’ leading products offered to the mass spectrometer community, we are looking forward to continuing the fast-paced expansion to support Cadence’s industry leading OEM partners, especially in macromolecule purification and separation.”

“I am excited to partner with Adaptas Solutions for the next stage of Cadence Fluidics growth,” said Neil Picha, founder of Cadence Fluidics. “The Adaptas model for continuous innovation will allow us to develop next-generation valves for a multitude of critical industry applications.”

This latest acquisition further enhances the group’s manufacturing and engineering resources and expertise, allowing Adaptas to accelerate OEM client development projects through offering highly customizable products for market-specific applications.

Adaptas Solutions is a portfolio company of Ampersand Capital Partners. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

About Adaptas Solutions, LLC

Adaptas Solutions, LLC is a strategic OEM supplier for key products and manufacturing service for analytical and laboratory equipment manufacturers. Adaptas’ manufacturing vertical integration strategy allows for rapid to-market product development and best in class costing while delivering high quality products and services. Additional information is available at www.adaptas.com

About Cadence Fluidics

Founded in 2008, Cadence Fluidics is a product developer and manufacturer of custom valve solutions and components for life science OEM customers. Cadence has developed multiple valve combinations to support the sophisticated platforms which include HPLC/UHPLC, mass spectrometry, preparative chromatography, flash chromatography, protein purification and next generation DNA sequencing systems.

About Ampersand Capital Partners

Founded in 1988, Ampersand is a middle market private equity firm with more than $2 billion of assets under management dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector. With offices in Boston and Amsterdam, Ampersand leverages its unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive superior long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams. Ampersand has helped build numerous market-leading companies across each of the firm’s core healthcare sectors. Additional information about Ampersand is available at ampersandcapital.com.

Categories: News

Tags:

Blackstone Completes Acquisition of Ancestry®, Leading Online Family History Business, for $4.7 Billion

Blackstone
NEW YORK, December 4, 2020 — Blackstone (NYSE:BX) today announced that private equity funds managed by Blackstone (“Blackstone”) have completed their previously announced acquisition of Ancestry® from Silver Lake, GIC, Spectrum Equity, Permira, and other equity holders for a total enterprise value of $4.7 billion. Current Ancestry investor GIC will continue to retain a significant minority stake in the company.

Ancestry is the global leader in digital family history services, operating in more than 30 countries. The company has over 3.6 million subscribers, with annual revenue of over $1 billion. The company harnesses the information found in family trees and historical records to help people gain a new level of understanding about their lives. Ancestry also operates a market-leading consumer genomics business, which informs consumers about their heritage and key health characteristics.

David Kestnbaum, a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, and Sachin Bavishi, a Managing Director at Blackstone, said: “We are very excited about Ancestry’s future, as the company continues to demonstrate strong growth as the industry leader. We look forward to partnering with Ancestry in the years ahead to help the company further expand its product offerings and drive ongoing technology innovation so that an even greater number of families can discover more about their histories and themselves.”

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as lead financial advisor to Ancestry. Barclays also served as a financial advisor to Ancestry. BofA Securities, Credit Suisse, and JPMorgan served as financial advisors to Blackstone. Latham & Watkins LLP is serving as legal advisor to Ancestry and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is serving as legal advisor to Blackstone. Dechert LLP is serving as legal advisor to GIC.

CEO Transition
Margo Georgiadis, Ancestry President & CEO, has announced that she has informed the board that she plans to depart the company at the end of 2020. The company expects to announce a new CEO in early 2021 who will drive the next phase of the company’s ongoing growth. Ms. Georgiadis will remain available for a period of time after her departure to assist in a smooth transition.

“I’m so proud of the collective accomplishments of the Ancestry team and am confident in the company’s continued success,” said Georgiadis. “In partnership with Blackstone and Ancestry’s deep bench of management talent, the company is well positioned for continued growth, delivering on its mission to empower journeys of personal discovery for millions of people around the world.”

Eric Wilmes, Head of Private Equity, Americas at GIC, and Stephen Evans, a Managing Director at Silver Lake, said, “Margo has made a tremendous impact on this organization, and we are grateful for her many contributions. She has created a best-in-class leadership team and led a process of rebuilding and strengthening our products and our business. On behalf of the entire board, we wish Margo the very best in her next chapter.”

About Blackstone
Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $584 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.

About Ancestry®
Ancestry®, the global leader in family history and consumer genomics, empowers journeys of personal discovery to enrich lives. With our unparalleled collection of 27 billion records and over 18 million people in our growing DNA network, customers can discover their family story and gain actionable insights about their health and wellness. For over 30 years, we’ve built trusted relationships with millions of people who have chosen us as the platform for discovering, preserving and sharing the most important information about themselves and their families.

About GIC
GIC is a leading global investment firm established in 1981 to manage Singapore’s foreign reserves. A disciplined long-term value investor, GIC is uniquely positioned for investments across a wide range of asset classes, including equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate and infrastructure. In private equity, GIC invests through funds as well as directly in companies, partnering with its fund managers and management teams to help world class businesses achieve their objectives. Headquartered in Singapore, GIC employs over 1,700 people across 10 offices in key financial cities worldwide. For further information on GIC, visit www.gic.com.sg.

Press Contacts

For Blackstone:
Matt Anderson
Matthew.Anderson@blackstone.com
+1 518 248 7310

For Ancestry:
Julie Miller
mediarelations@ancestry.com
+858 232-5609

For GIC:
Katy Conrad
katyconrad@gic.com.sg

Categories: News

Tags:

IK portfolio company Klingel medical metal acquires puracon GmbH from SHS, a medical technology investo

ik-investment-partners

SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement mbH, based in Tübingen, is selling its shares in puracon GmbH to Klingel medical metal GmbH, a portfolio company of IK Investment Partners. With 600 employees, Klingel Group is one of the leading companies in the field of precision machining of high-strength materials such as stainless steel and titanium for the production of medical technology products made of metal. The purchase of puracon allows Klingel to benefit from valuable synergies as contract developer, manufacturer and packer and offer its worldwide medical technology customers a complete range of services based on the “one-stop-shop” principle. This is already the third acquisition for Klingel since IK Investment Partners acquired a stake in 2018.

SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement mbH, based in Tübingen, has been active as an investor in the field of medical technology and life sciences for more than two decades. This makes SHS one of the most experienced investment companies in this sector currently investing from SHS fund V.

At the end of 2015, SHS took a stake in puracon GmbH based in Rosenheim. As a full-service partner for the medtech industry, puracon offers efficient packaging and validation solutions for medical technology products: primarily implants and instruments. Thus, puracon is part of the validated process chain of implants and the final station before the sterile product is used for patients in the hospital.

Sascha Alilovic, Managing Partner of SHS, says: “With Klingel medical metal, puracon is able to continue to pursue a targeted course of growth. Klingel thinks about the long-term. The company has been in the market since 1986 and is today one of the leading suppliers in its field. Our goal was to support puracon on the road to profitable growth. We’ve achieved this, and now it’s time to ignite the next stage – and Klingel is the perfect partner for this.”

Ralf Petrawitz, Managing Partner and CEO of Klingel, plans to significantly expand the group’s offering for medical technology customers worldwide on the basis of this acquisition. “puracon is a very good addition to an already extensive product range for our demanding customers from the medical technology sector. As a result, we are now able to offer services in the field of validation and packaging within the Klingel Group. These factors enable us to specifically strengthen our competitive position and make us fit for the future.”

Ruth Gessner, Managing Director of puracon, is also pleased with this development: “Together with SHS, we as a puracon team have been able to significantly expand our customer base over the last five years, thereby generating strong growth. With Klingel Group, we will take the next step and achieve synergies that will benefit both our customers and our employees. We look forward to working with them.”

For further questions, please contact:

IK Investment Partners
Charles Barker Communications GmbH
Tobias Eberle
Telefon +49 69 794090 24

Klingel medical metal
Ralf Petrawitz
Telefon +49 7231 6519 0 

SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement mbH
Regine Hujer
Bismarckstraße 12
72072 Tübingen
Telefon +49 7071/9196-100
tuebingen@shs-capital.eu

About IK Investment Partners

IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is a pan-European private equity firm with a focus on investments in the Nordic regions, the DACH countries, Benelux and France. IK has received more than EUR 13 billion in capital commitments since 1989 and has invested in over 140 companies. IK supports high-growth companies with further potential for international expansion and add-on acquisitions. For more information: www.ikinvest.com

About Klingel medical metal:

Klingel has been a leading European company in the field of precision technology for more than 30 years with a strategic focus on the medical technology sector. With more than 600 employees, Klingel focuses on the processing of complex metal components and instruments made of titanium and stainless steel. Klingel provides the highest possible technical quality while maintaining aesthetic precision. For more information: www.klingel-med.de

About SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement mbH:

SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement based in Tübingen invests in medical technology and life sciences companies with a focus on expansion financing, changes in the shareholder structure and succession scenarios. SHS acquires both minority and majority stakes. Founded in 1993, the company is an experienced industry investor and supports the growth of its portfolio companies through a network of cooperations. This includes the introduction of new products, dealing with regulatory issues and gaining a foothold in additional markets, among other things. European investors in SHS funds include pension funds, strategic investors, funds of funds, family offices, entrepreneurs and the SHS management team. The company is a registered AIFM and makes equity investment of up to EUR 30 million. Volumes exceeding this limit can be implemented with a network of co-investors. SHS is currently investing from its fifth fund. The fund has received capital commitments of more than EUR 130 million. For more information: http://www.shs-capital.eu

Categories: News

Tags:

Gryphon’s Smile Brands Completes Acquisition Of Midwest Dental

Gryphon Investors

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.

Contacts

Categories: News

Tags:

Market Access Transformation (MAT) Secures First Institutional Funding Led by Silversmith Capital Partners

Market Access Transformation (MAT), a global healthcare company that uses cutting edge technology to automate and modernize how life sciences companies capture mission-critical insights that drive decision-making across the product lifecycle, today announced a $30 million minority investment from Silversmith Capital Partners, a Boston-based growth equity firm. The investment marks the first time MAT has raised outside capital and will be used to expand the company’s team and accelerate innovation of its product offerings.

Founded in 2016, MAT has revolutionized the way Global Payer Market Research is conducted by developing Rapid Payer Response (RPR), the industry’s only on-demand global platform for gathering critical payer insights. In five years, the company has built a client base of more than 45 biopharma and device manufacturers – including all of the Top 10 pharma companies. MAT’s partnership with Silversmith solidifies its market leadership position in providing technology-driven solutions to the healthcare community.

“Providing our clients with new and improved offerings that address unmet needs within healthcare research and analytics has been our primary focus since we started MAT,” said Baiju Aurora, MAT’s CEO and Co-Founder, who along with Co-Founder Paul Howard will continue to lead the company. “We are incredibly proud of what our team has achieved in such a short period of time and are excited to partner with Silversmith as we look to accelerate our product development initiatives.”

RPR is built on the company’s proprietary SaaS platform that enables manufacturers to obtain more robust insights, in 1/3 the time and 1/2 the cost of more traditional, manual-based approaches. RPR is powered by an expansive global payer network – which spans over 40 countries – and leverages a unique payer selection and vetting process. “While RPR has enabled us to deliver technology solutions to a wide variety of pharma companies across the globe, our expert team of pricing and market access specialists drive client engagement and satisfaction,” added Paul Howard.

“One of the biggest challenges life sciences organizations face is gathering payer insights in an agile manner to drive optimal clinical and commercial product strategies as regulatory and market dynamics evolve,” said Brian Peterson, Principal of Silversmith. “What impressed us most about MAT was their platform’s ability to deliver insights in days instead of months, while maintaining industry-leading quality on a global scale. We are thrilled to partner with Baiju, Paul and the entire MAT team, and look forward to working with them as they continue to bring innovative offerings to the market.”

As part of the investment, Brian Peterson and Jim Quagliaroli, Managing Partner of Silversmith, have joined MAT’s Board of Directors, along with Baiju Aurora and Paul Howard.

Choate, Hall & Stewart served as legal counsel to Silversmith Capital Partners and Day Pitney served as legal counsel to MAT.

About Market Access Transformation

With offices in the US, UK, and India, Market Access Transformation specializes in developing cutting edge technologies that enable the healthcare community to gather and exchange insights that assess the real-world potential of their products. MAT’s first product, Rapid Payer Response™ (RPR), is an online platform-based information exchange that allows healthcare manufacturers to secure On-Demand expert insight from the largest and most diverse global payer network in as little as 5 days. For more information about MAT, please visit www.marketaccesstransformation.com.

About Silversmith Capital Partners

Founded in 2015, Silversmith Capital Partners is a Boston-based growth equity firm with $2.0 billion of capital under management. Silversmith’s mission is to partner with and support the best entrepreneurs in growing, profitable technology and healthcare companies. Representative investments include ActiveCampaign, Appfire, Centauri Health Solutions, DistroKid, Impact, LifeStance Health, MediQuant, Panalgo, Unily, Validity, and Webflow. The partners have over 75 years of collective investing experience and have served on the boards of numerous successful growth companies including ABILITY Network, Archer Technologies, Dealer.com, Liazon, Liberty Dialysis, MedHOK, Net Health, Passport Health, SurveyMonkey, and Wrike. For more information about Silversmith, please visit www.silversmith.com.

For media Inquiries, please contact:

Kate Castle

Silversmith Capital Partners

P: 617.670.4345

kate@silversmithcapital.com

‍

Categories: News

Tags:

Gryphon Investors Sells Matrixx, Maker of Zicam Cold Remedy Brand, to Church & Dwight

Gryphon Investors

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.

Contacts

Categories: News

Tags: