Aspen Surgical Products, a portfolio company of Audax Private Equity, has acquired Symmetry Surgical from RoundTable Healthcare Partners.
Aspen is a manufacturer of surgical disposables products including Bard-Parker blades and scalpels, Precept personal protective equipment, Protek probe covers and needle guides, Stork labor and delivery products, surgical marking pens, and orthopedic positioners. The company’s manufacturing capabilities include injection molding, sewing, ultrasonic welding, die cutting, automated assembly, and packaging as well as blade stamping, grinding, and finishing. Aspen, led by CEO Jason Krieser, was founded in 1999 and is headquartered just south of Grand Rapids in Caledonia, Michigan, with additional facilities in Puerto Rico and Mexico.
Symmetry is a provider of surgical and specialty instrumentation, electrosurgery products, and minimally invasive surgical devices. The company, led by CEO Brian Straeb, is headquartered in Nashville with additional facilities in Kentucky, Germany, and Australia. RoundTable first invested in Symmetry through its $650 million fourth fund in July 2016.
“Symmetry has a longstanding history of providing high-quality surgical devices and value-added services to the healthcare community, including iconic brands such as Bovie, Bookwalter, and Greenberg,” said Mr. Krieser. “The portfolio is synergistic with Aspen and supports our mission to deliver essential products that improve safety and efficiency in the surgical environment.”
Audax acquired Aspen Surgical from publicly traded Hillrom in July 2019 for $170 million. The buy of Symmetry is Aspen’s sixth add-on acquisition under Audax ownership. The five earlier add-ons include Stork, a division of Briggs Healthcare (June 2021); Montreal-headquartered BlueMed Medical Supplies (March 2021); Iowa-based Protek Medical Products (November 2020); North Carolina-based Precept Medical Products (May 2020); and Washington-based Beatty Marketing & Sales (November 2019).
“Symmetry’s family of category-leading products and gold-standard brands align well with Aspen’s existing portfolio,” said David Wong, a managing director at Audax. “We’re excited to continue investing behind the Aspen platform through both organic initiatives and strategic acquisitions.”
Audax Private Equity invests in middle-market companies that have from $8 million to $50 million in EBITDA and enterprise values of $50 million to $400 million. The firm has invested over $9 billion in 150 platforms and over 1,100 add-on companies. Sectors of interest include business and consumer services; energy; healthcare; technology, media, and telecom; and industrials including chemicals, infrastructure, and building materials. Audax, with offices in Boston, New York, and San Francisco, is currently investing out of its $3.5 billion, sixth private equity fund.
RoundTable, the seller of Symmetry Surgical, is an operating-oriented private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry. The firm was founded in 2001 and is headquartered north of Chicago in Lake Forest, Illinois. In May 2022, the firm closed its sixth private equity fund with $800 million in capital commitments.
Senior debt for this transaction was provided by Antares Capital, Golub Capital, BMO Sponsor Finance, and Apogem Capital. Mezzanine debt was provided by Churchill Asset Management, MetLife Investment Management, and Northwestern Mutual Capital. In addition, Linden Capital Partners, through its structured capital strategy, provided preferred equity financing.
Piper Sandler was the financial advisor to Aspen and Audax and Kirkland & Ellis provided legal services.
© 2022 Private Equity Professional | October 28, 2022
