Sunrise Medical, a portfolio company of Vestar Capital Partners, has entered into an agreement to sell its mobility and seating operations to Equistone Partners Europe. The transaction is expected to close by year-end 2012.
“Our partnership with Vestar has helped the company focus its innovation and operating strengths on the mobility business globally,” said Thomas Rossnagel, CEO of Sunrise Medical. “The corporation holds a very strong market position and the past three years’ financial performance has been outstanding. My team and I are excited about the opportunity to take Sunrise Medical to the next level of performance and significantly expand our global business with support of the new resources from Equistone.”
Sunrise Medical is a global manufacturer, marketer and distributor of high-end custom manual and power wheelchairs and technologically advanced and proprietary seating systems. Brand names include Quickie, Sopur, Zippie, Breezy, Jay, Sterling and Coopers. Sunrise Medical products are manufactured in North America, Europe, and Asia and are distributed in more than 100 countries around the world. The company was founded in 1983 and has offices in Fresno, CA and Heidelberg, Germany (www.sunrisemedical.com).
In December 2000, Vestar, in partnership with Park Avenue Equity Partners, acquired Sunrise Medical in a going-private transaction. During Vestar’s ownership, Sunrise Medical spun out to shareholders its Joerns Healthcare, DeVilbiss Healthcare and DynaVox Systems divisions. Joerns and DynaVox were successfully realized in 2010 while Vestar continues as the majority shareholder of DeVilbiss.
“We have had an extraordinarily productive collaboration with Sunrise Medical,” said Dan O’Connell, CEO of Vestar Capital Partners. “We have created value through two successful spin-offs, which allowed Sunrise Medical to streamline and focus its operations and strategy. Thomas Rossnagel has been an exceptional leader and we believe he and his team will continue on their promising path. We at Vestar thank Thomas and his accomplished team at Sunrise for their dedication and excellent performance over the years we have been their investment partner.”
Vestar specializes in management buyouts and growth capital investments. The firm targets companies in the US and Europe with valuations of $150 million to $1.5 billion and operations in four industry sectors: consumer; diversified industries; healthcare; and financial services. Since the firm’s founding in 1988, the Vestar funds have completed more than 69 investments in companies with a total value of more than $30 billion. Vestar, with $8 billion in capital under management, has offices in New York, Boston, and Denver (www.vestarcapital.com).
Sunrise Medical and Vestar received financial advice from Rothschild. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett provided legal counsel and Deloitte Tax provided tax advice.
© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-7-12
