Ohio firm buys stake in GTI Diagnostics
04.07.2008 03:02
Health
- Source: JS Online
A Cleveland private equity firm has purchased a majority stake in GTI Diagnostics, the companies said Thursday. The Riverside Co., which manages $3 billion of assets, closed on the transaction on Tuesday for an undisclosed price, said Scott Gilbertson, a principal at the firm. GTI was founded in 1985 by the BloodCenter of Wisconsin’s research foundation and Jim Tidey, its chief executive officer. GTI makes diagnostic tests for the transplant, blood bank and coagulation laboratories. “This acquisition by Riverside is really an opportunity for GTI to continue to grow — and to grow even faster because of the resources Riverside can supply,” Tidey said. He will stay with the company as CEO and an investor, he said. GTI is based in Waukesha where it leases 23,500 square feet of laboratory, manufacturing and administrative space. Riverside bought GTI in its $250 million micro-cap fund, which buys companies with cash flow between $1 million and $4 million and enterprise values of $8 million to $30 million, Gilbertson said. It typically holds investments for eight to 10 years, he said. “This will be a platform acquisition and our goal will be to support management to grow the company going forward and continue to invest in their robust R&D program,” said Gilbertson, who is based in Chicago. The additional capital will allow GTI to continue to develop new products and expand its product offerings, said Frank Stokes, a managing director and health care investment banker with Robert W. Baird, which represented GTI and the BloodCenter in the transaction. “This was really outside the scope of the BloodCenter charter, the business had grown and gotten to be a substantial asset,” Stokes said. The acquisition will be a “non-event” for GTI’s 95 employees, he said. GTI is the fourth Milwaukee-area company Riverside has acquired, Gilbertson said. The others are: American Home Inspector Training in Waukesha, Crisis Prevention Institute in Brookfield and Nordco Inc. in Oak Creek. Riverside also owns three other Wisconsin companies in Eau Claire, Green Bay and Neenah, he said.
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