Huron Capital Partners and Exium Partners have made an investment in Six Month Smiles, a provider of adult cosmetic orthodontics.
Six Month Smiles provides cosmetic orthodontic solutions as a turnkey program for general practitioner dentists, enabling them to treat patients with an alternative to both comprehensive orthodontics and aligner products for correcting crooked teeth in four to nine months. Six Month Smiles serves the large population of adults who desire straighter teeth for cosmetic purposes, yet do not want to deal with the treatment length, higher cost or poor appearance associated with traditional braces. The company was founded in 2006 by Dr. Ryan Swain and is based in Scottsville, NY (www.6monthsmiles.com).
Huron and Exium Partners plan to continue growing the business through geographic expansion and new product offerings. “Six Month Smiles has a proven management team, a scalable business model, a dedicated employee base, and loyal customers,” said Huron Partner, Nick Barker. “We are excited to be partnering with the Six Month Smiles management team and working with them in growing the business going forward.”
The Six Month Smiles transaction builds on Huron’s prior experience and success investing in the business services market and is the culmination of an active effort to identify investments specifically in the dental market. Huron’s investment in Six Month Smiles was made through The Huron Fund III L.P., a $350 million private equity fund which closed in 2008.
Huron Capital Partners invests up to $70 million per transaction in middle market companies that have revenues up to $200 million and EBITDAs of $5 million or more. Sectors of interest include education & training, healthcare, specialty chemicals, specialty packaging, consumer products, home décor, business services, industrial manufacturing, food & beverage, and marketing services. Since its founding in 1999, Huron has acquired or invested in 61 companies with aggregate revenues in excess of $1 billion. Huron Capital currently manages over $1.1 billion in committed equity through four private equity funds, and has offices in Detroit and Toronto (www.huroncapital.com).
Exium Partners invests in lower middle-market companies located in the United States and Canada that have revenues of $5 million to $100 million and EBITDAs of $2 million to $20 million. The firm is an industry generalist but has specific interest in the business services, software, digital media, manufacturing, telecommunications, and financial technology and services sectors. Exium Partners is based in Fairport, NY (www.exiumpartners.com).
“We’re excited about this investment,” said Dr. Swain. “Six Month Smiles has grown rapidly over the past several years and this is the right time for us to reinvest in market expansion. As we continue to lead the market with our Short Term Ortho system, we believe the operational experience from our new investors will help us reach new heights.”
© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 2-12-13
