Caron Products and Services, a maker of laboratory testing chambers and incubators and a portfolio company of SFW Capital Partners, has acquired Bigneat.
Bigneat is a manufacturer of clean air, hazard containment, and safety systems including laboratory fume hoods, controlled atmosphere enclosures, and robotic and automation enclosures. The company’s products are used for process and sample protection during laboratory procedures, batch and online production processes in the biological, chemical, electronics, food, government, nanotechnology, pharmaceutical, and photonics sectors.
Bigneat, led by CEO Robert Monks, was founded in 1972 and is headquartered 70 miles southwest of London in Waterlooville, UK.
“The entire team at Bigneat, my family and I are all incredibly excited to join Caron,” said Mr. Monks. “The combination of our strong European network and Caron’s market leadership in the United States provides immediate opportunities to both businesses to better serve our customers.”
Caron is a provider of laboratory equipment used in small and large molecule drug development and manufacturing, cell and gene therapy, and academic research. Caron’s products, which include environmental testing chambers, incubators and growth chambers, are used in the biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, outsourced pharmaceutical services, industrial testing, consumer products, and public research markets. The company, led by CEO Jay Hexamer, was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Marietta, Ohio.
“Bigneat is an excellent strategic acquisition for Caron,” said Mr. Hexamer. “The companies have complementary products, engineering capabilities, operational expertise and geographic footprint. Caron and Bigneat are both well-positioned to benefit from rapidly growing areas in the life sciences industry, including the development of cell and gene therapies, laboratory automation and continued focus on productivity and safety of laboratory professionals.”
“When we invested in Caron, we saw the opportunity to expand the business through a range of organic growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions,” added Ahmad Sheikh, a partner at SFW. “The strategic acquisition of Bigneat – particularly the addition of technical talent, expanded product offering, and complementary customer segments – is an important step toward building Caron into a market-leading provider of laboratory equipment used in research, development, production and quality control processes in the global life sciences sector.”
SFW invests from $25 million to $200 million of equity in information, software, industrial and healthcare technology companies that have revenues of $10 million to $500 million. The firm is headquartered in Rye, New York.
SFW first invested in Caron in January 2021. According to Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, the global market for life sciences and lab equipment is growing at a 7.2 percent CAGR and is estimated to reach nearly $66 billion in revenue by 2023.
© 2021 Private Equity Professional | August 18, 2021
