Golden Gate Capital has acquired Cole-Parmer Instrument Company, a designer, manufacturer, and distributor of specialty lab equipment, from GTCR.
Cole-Parmer’s products are predominantly used in fluid-handling, test and measurement, and electrochemistry applications by customers that are active in the healthcare, biotech, pharmaceutical, environmental, and food industries. Company owned brand names include Masterflex, Ismatec, Oakton, and the Cole-Parmer private label. Cole-Parmer sells its products through its international network of laboratory managers and independent dealers. The company, led by CEO Bernd Brust, is based in the Chicago suburb of Vernon Hills (www.coleparmer.com).
Cole-Parmer was founded in 1955 and acquired by Thermo Fisher in 2001. GTCR carved Cole-Parmer back out of Thermo Fisher in August 2014 to create a standalone company.
Cole-Parmer will continue to be led by its current senior management team and will remain headquartered in Vernon Hills. “We look forward to partnering with Bernd and the Cole-Parmer management team as the company continues its expansion into high-growth life science and lab testing markets such as bio-production and contaminant testing,” said Rajeev Amara, Managing Director at Golden Gate Capital. “Cole-Parmer is now our fourteenth investment in the industrials sector and the latest example of our focus on backing high growth, best-in-class platforms and management teams.”
Golden Gate Capital targets companies across a range of industries and transaction types, including going-privates, corporate divestitures, recapitalizations, and public equity investments. The firm has approximately $15 billion of capital under management and is based in San Francisco (www.goldengatecap.com).
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 $12 billion in over 200 companies. The firm is based in Chicago (www.gtcr.com).
Morgan Stanley was the financial advisor to Golden Gate Capital.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | March 22, 2017
