GRAND RAPIDS — One of West Michigan’s prominent contract medical device manufacturers has been acquired by a Philadelphia, Pa.-based private equity firm.
Medbio Inc., a Grand Rapids-based manufacturer of injection moldings, assemblies and packaging for medical device and biotech industry, sold a majority stake to Graham Partners, executives confirmed to MiBiz.
Terms of the deal, which became effective July 17, were undisclosed.
According to Medbio President and CEO Chris Williams, the company continues to expand in the West Michigan area.
“We have added four new presses and will probably add a fifth in the next year,” Williams told MiBiz. “We are experiencing heavy growth, and I am frankly having a hard time hiring … in the middle of this big growth spurt.
“It’s a very good time to partner with Graham Partners.”
Williams said his family will continue to hold a substantial interest in Medbio after the deal with Graham Partners, which cited the company’s leadership team and operational history as reason for the investment.
“Graham was attracted to Medbio’s state-of-the-art operations and longstanding history of providing customers with industry-leading quality products and services,” Graham Partners Managing Principal Joe Heinmiller said in a statement. “(We look) forward to partnering with Medbio’s strong, experienced management team and utilizing our industry expertise and operating partner network to continue the company’s success.”
Williams said in a statement that Graham Partners was the “right partner to support Medbio during an exciting period of rapid growth.”
“We are eager to collaborate with the Graham team and tap into their industry and operational resources to enhance and expand Medbio,” he added.
Southfield-based investment banking firm Cascade Partners LLC and its affiliate Cascade Growth Partners recapitalized its investment in Medbio along with the Graham Partners deal, according to Managing Director Rajesh Kothari, who said the firm has been an investor with the company “from the beginning.”
“You couldn’t find better partners,” he told MiBiz. “Chris (Williams) has done an exceptional job growing that business, and we are excited to stay on as an investor, and with their partnership with Graham, to see where it can go to the next level.”
Kothari added that Graham Partners will bring additional capital to Medbio and “talent to support additions over time.”
“I anticipate they will look for other organizations to fit into the Medbio portfolio,” he said.
Medbio serves many facets of the medical device sector, including cardiovascular, biotechnology, neurology and ophthalmology companies. The manufacturer employed roughly 190 people as of a December interview with MiBiz. At the time, Williams said Medbio expected to generate “record sales” for 2018, citing the healthy economy as a factor.
“We’re getting ready for a big growth spurt and most of that’s actually booked already — established business — so I’m fairly certain we’ll be seeing that increase in revenue on the bottom line,” Williams said at the time.
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Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include comment from Cascade Partners Managing Director Rajesh Kothari.
