GTCR has entered into a partnership with Carl Hull and Eric Tardif to form Maravai Life Sciences. The new platform will focus on acquiring companies and products in the in-vitro diagnostics and life sciences industry as part of a strategy to build a market leading healthcare business.
“We are very excited to partner with Carl and Eric to build a leading company in the diagnostics and life sciences industry,” said GTCR Managing Director Dean Mihas. “They have exceptional track records of thoughtful leadership and value creation. Their expertise, strategic vision and operational abilities make them ideal partners as GTCR commits to a platform in this attractive industry.” GTCR will support Maravai by investing up to $300 million of equity capital from GTCR Fund X, a private equity fund with $3.25 billion of equity capital commitments.
Mr. Hull is a thirty-year veteran of the diagnostic and life sciences industry. Prior to partnering with GTCR, Mr. Hull was Chief Executive Officer of Gen-Probe, a molecular diagnostic company which was sold in 2012 to Hologic for $3.7 billion. Prior to his time at Gen-Probe, he held a number of executive roles at various diagnostics and life sciences companies, including Applied Biosystems, Ventana Medical Systems and Abbott Laboratories.
Eric Tardif joined Mr. Hull at Gen-Probe as Senior Vice President after spending over a decade covering life sciences clients at Morgan Stanley and other firms. At Gen-Probe, Mr. Tardif was responsible for establishing corporate strategy, evaluating and executing all mergers and acquisitions, including Gen-Probe’s sale to Hologic.
“I am thrilled about the opportunity to work with GTCR to build Maravai into an industry leader in the diagnostics and life sciences space,” said Mr. Hull. “The firm has a long history of backing experienced CEOs and providing them with the resources and support to build successful companies through both organic growth and acquisitions. GTCR has been actively evaluating opportunities and developing a unique expertise in diagnostics and life sciences. With our partnership, Maravai is well positioned to benefit from the firm’s deep domain knowledge and expertise.”
GTCR pioneered the investment strategy of identifying and partnering with executives to acquire and build companies through a combination of acquisitions and internal growth. The firm currently has nearly $11 billion in assets under management. Since its inception in 1980, GTCR has invested more than $10 billion in over 200 companies. The firm is based in Chicago (www.gtcr.com).
“GTCR’s formation of Maravai demonstrates our interest in investing additional capital in a dynamic and growing segment of healthcare,” said Ben Daverman, Vice President at GTCR. “We are actively looking for acquisitions and believe there will continue to be a number of compelling investment opportunities in the market. Working with Maravai, we are in a unique position to evaluate and pursue these investments.”
Maravai Life Sciences is headquartered in San Diego (www.maravai.com).
© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 3-18-14
