Medical & Diagnostic Products
AbilityOne Corporation
Our team partnered with BISSELL Homecare to acquire AbilityOne in 2000. One year later, we partnered with Smith & Nephew to acquire its rehab division and merged it with AbilityOne. The combination transformed AbilityOne into the global leader in rehabilitation products distribution. Our team assisted with the integration, recruited additional management team members and helped the team develop a corporate strategy for growth. Patterson Companies, Inc., a leading supplier of dental and other healthcare products, purchased AbilityOne in 2003 to support its strategic plans for expansion. As a business of Patterson, AbilityOne continues to be the world’s leading distributor of rehabilitation products.
Alpine Biomed
Water Street acquired Alpine Biomed in 2007, and simultaneously acquired Medtronic’s neurology diagnostic product line. We facilitated three more strategic acquisitions that built the company into a global specialty diagnostic device leader in the clinical gastroenterology and neurology markets. Natus Medical acquired Alpine Biomed’s neurodiagnostic business in 2009 to solidify its position as the worldwide leader in neurology. Given Imaging acquired Alpine’s gastrodiagnostic business in 2010 to strengthen its position as the global leader in the gastro esophageal market.
Facet Technologies
Water Street partnered with Matria Healthcare, Inc. to acquire Facet Technologies in 2006. We transitioned Facet to an independent company and recruited to CEO a former Becton Dickinson executive with more than 20 years of experience in medical device manufacturing. Water Street invested in Facet’s infrastructure and expanded its customer relationships to build it into the world’s largest microsampling sharps provider. The company is now owned by Tower Three Partners, and continues to be the leading provider of lancets and lancing devices to the blood glucose monitoring and additional point-of-care testing markets.
Inovision Holdings
Our team’s acquisition of Lafayette Pharmaceuticals in 1994 served as the foundation for Inovision. Working with management, we helped Inovision acquire three additional product lines in 1995 and 1996. Inovision also acquired Victoreen and Keithly in 1998. These acquisitions built Inovision into a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of barium sulfate contrast agents and radiation measurement devices. The company became known for offering the broadest spectrum of leading–edge products and maintenance services to diagnostic imaging markets around the world. Tyco International purchased the Lafayette business from Inovision in 2000 and Syncor bought the company’s additional businesses in 2001.
Kendro Laboratory Products
The Water Street team partnered with DuPont to purchase its SORVALL division in 1996. Two years after our investment, our team merged SORVALL with the laboratory instruments division of Heraeus to form Kendro Laboratory Products. It was a transformational combination that created a global leader in products and services to the laboratory life sciences and drug discovery markets. SPX Corporation, a multi-industry manufacturing leader, bought the company from us in 2001 to expand its life sciences business. Kendro’s products continue to support research scientists around the world with preparing samples for experimentation.
LifeStream International
The Water Street team completed three simultaneous investments to form LifeStream in 1999. We merged the assets of the cardiopulmonary division of C.R. Bard, Inc., certain assets of the cardiosurgery business of Minntech Corporation, and privately-held Surgimedics, Inc. The combination created a market leader in cardiopulmonary products. Terumo Corporation, one of the world’s leading medical device manufacturers, bought LifeStream in 2002 to increase its share of the global cardiac surgery products market.
Medex, Inc.
Our team simultaneously invested in Medex, Inc., a provider of system solutions for critical care, to acquire the Jelco I.V. catheter business of Ethicon Endo-Surgery, a Johnson & Johnson company. The combination transformed Medex into the market leader in fluid and drug delivery in critical care. It also expanded the company’s global footprint and customer base. Smiths Medical bought Medex in 2005 to strategically expand its safety critical systems and products. Medex continues to be one of the world’s leading critical care companies.
Precision Dynamics Corporation
Water Street invested in Precision Dynamics Corporation (“PDC”) in 2007 when the company specialized in healthcare identification wristbands. Our team partnered with the founders and management team to execute a strategic plan that transformed PDC into a global leader in patient safety identification products. In 2009, our team helped PDC acquire TimeMed Labeling Systems, Inc. to expand into healthcare labeling systems. In 2010, Water Street initiated an industry-leading merger between PDC and The St. John Companies to create the world’s foremost provider of healthcare wristbands, specialty labels and identification solutions. The merger enabled PDC to offer the healthcare industry’s most comprehensive set of products and services to accurately identify patients, label clinical specimens, track medications and monitor treatments. Brady Corporation (NYSE: BRC), a world leader in a broad range of identification solutions, purchased PDC in 2012 to expand its presence into the healthcare market.
Specialty Distribution
AbilityOne Corporation
Our team partnered with BISSELL Homecare to acquire AbilityOne in 2000. One year later, we partnered with Smith & Nephew to acquire its rehab division and merged it with AbilityOne. The combination transformed AbilityOne into the global leader in rehabilitation products distribution. Our team assisted with the integration, recruited additional management team members and helped the team develop a corporate strategy for growth. Patterson Companies, Inc., a leading supplier of dental and other healthcare products, purchased AbilityOne in 2003 to support its strategic plans for expansion. As a business of Patterson, AbilityOne continues to be the world’s leading distributor of rehabilitation products.
Inovision Holdings
Our team’s acquisition of Lafayette Pharmaceuticals in 1994 served as the foundation for Inovision. Working with management, we helped Inovision acquire three additional product lines in 1995 and 1996. Inovision also acquired Victoreen and Keithly in 1998. These acquisitions built Inovision into a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of barium sulfate contrast agents and radiation measurement devices. The company became known for offering the broadest spectrum of leading–edge products and maintenance services to diagnostic imaging markets around the world. Tyco International purchased the Lafayette business from Inovision in 2000 and Syncor bought the company’s additional businesses in 2001.
Kendro Laboratory Products
The Water Street team partnered with DuPont to purchase its SORVALL division in 1996. Two years after our investment, our team merged SORVALL with the laboratory instruments division of Heraeus to form Kendro Laboratory Products. It was a transformational combination that created a global leader in products and services to the laboratory life sciences and drug discovery markets. SPX Corporation, a multi-industry manufacturing leader, bought the company from us in 2001 to expand its life sciences business. Kendro’s products continue to support research scientists around the world with preparing samples for experimentation.
Outsourced Healthcare Services
Physiotherapy Associates
Water Street partnered with Stryker Corporation (NYSE: SYK) to acquire Physiotherapy Associates in 2007. Shortly thereafter, we merged the business with Benchmark Medical. It was a transformational combination that propelled Physiotherapy Associates into an industry-leadership position. Water Street tapped our industry network to recruit a highly talented managegment team. Together, we helped the company achieve optimal performance and executed a strategic growth plan that established Physiotherapy Associates as the nation’s foremost provider of outpatient rehabilitation services. In 2012, we divested the company to a strategic growth investor who is focused on further expanding its leadership position. Physiotherapy Associates continues to be one of the only providers that can offer high-quality, consistent care on a national scale.
Specialty Pharmaceutical Products & Services
OraPharma
Water Street acquired OraPharma from Johnson & Johnson. Our team transformed the business into a standalone company and recruited a highly talented management team spearheaded by CEO Janet Vergis. We leveraged our team’s extensive experience and deep expertise in the pharmaceutical sector to accelerate OraPharma’s growth, improve profitability, and advance attractive new product and market opportunities. Together with management, we built OraPharma into a leading oral health pharmaceutical company. In 2012, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, one of the world’s leading specialty pharmaceutical companies, purchased OraPharma from Water Street.
