Mountaingate Capital has acquired BioDerm, a provider of disposable medical devices and wound care supplies. Abacus Finance provided senior debt for this transaction and made an equity co-investment.
BioDerm’s products are used for urinary management, securement, infection control and skin protection. The company’s external catheter products are sold under the Men’s Liberty brand (for home use) and Men’s Liberty Acute brand (for institutional and hospital use). BioDerm’s other products include CathGrip adhesive securement products, FreeDerm adhesive remover, and BioPlus skin preparation wipes.
BioDerm also provides wound care dressing change kits to patients with ventricular assist devices (mechanical pumps used to support heart function and blood flow). BioDerm, led by Chairman Gary Damkoehler and CEO Gaet Tyranski, was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Largo, Florida.
In partnership with Mountaingate, BioDerm plans to accelerate its organic growth and pursue add-acquisitions that expand its products and services. “We are very excited to partner with Mountaingate as we focus on our next phase of growth,” said Mr. Tyranski. “Mountaingate brings extensive industry experience that we can leverage to further advance our business and meet the growing needs of our patients.”
“Under Gary and Gaet’s leadership, BioDerm has significantly expanded its product and market reach while demonstrating a high level of service and commitment to the patients they serve,” said Stew Fisher, a managing director at Mountaingate. “We are delighted that they chose to partner with us, and we welcome Gary’s continued investment and board of director’s role.”
Abacus Finance was the administrative agent and lead arranger for $26.3 million in senior secured credit facilities to back Mountaingate’s buy of BioDerm. Five Points Capital provided subordinated debt and also made an equity co-investment. Abacus provides cash flow-based senior financing to private equity and family office-sponsored, lower-middle market companies that have EBITDA between $3 million and $15 million. Debt facilities can be as large as $50 million with a typical hold size ranging from $10 million to $40 million.
“Abacus moved quickly to close the transaction on an accelerated timeline,” added Mr. Fisher. “The team was responsive and flexible, and the end result was a smooth transaction that was rapidly closed.”
“This was our first transaction with Mountaingate, and they were great to work with,” said Tim Clifford, the president and CEO of Abacus. “They have a substantial history in healthcare and know the space well.” Other Abacus team members involved in the BioDerm transaction included Eric Petersen and Austin Rendell.
“Mountaingate was very efficient to deal with and very relationship-oriented,” said Mr. Petersen. “All in all, I think they feel they can Count on Us given the importance they attach to speed and the certainty of close – two key aspects of our Total Partnership Approach.” Abacus’ Count on Us and Total Partnership Approach refers to the firm’s operating strategy that merges its cash-flow financing expertise, deep industry knowledge and client service capabilities to give its private equity and family office-sponsors the certainty of close and transactional peace of mind.
Since its founding in June 2011, Abacus has now closed over $2 billion in financings. The firm is headquartered in New York City and is an affiliate of New York Private Bank & Trust which was founded in 1850.
Denver-based Mountaingate invests in companies that have from $5 million to $25 million in EBITDA and are active in the marketing services, specialty manufacturing, specialty distribution, and business services sectors.
BioDerm is Mountaingate’s tenth platform investment for Mountaingate Capital Fund I LP, the firm’s debut fund which closed in August 2017 at an oversubscribed hard cap of $395 million.
© 2021 Private Equity Professional | January 22, 2021
