Private equity buys WellSpring and its CMO business
WellSpring provides contract manufacturing services from its plant in Ontario, Canada and sells its own over-the-counter (OTC) and specialty products. Florida-headquartered WellSpring expects combining these assets with financial backing will help grow the business.
“This transaction allows us to continue to utilise our state of the art manufacturing facility in Canada through a new phase of growth”, Bonnie Feeney, president and chief operating officer of WellSpring, said.
Services provided from the Ontario plant cover manufacture, packaging and distribution of clinical trial supplies through to commercial-scale production of solids, semi-solids and non-sterile liquids. WellSpring also offers quality services, such as stability testing, for commercial and clinical products.
Making investments
Feeney and Wendy Shusko, chief financial officer of WellSpring, have reinvested in the transaction and will continue at the company. They will now be part of a business owned by Ancor, Sentinel Capital and Yukon Capital.
“WellSpring represents the 15th acquisition of a healthcare company for Ancor and combines our experience in contract manufacturing, pharmaceutical sales and OTC products”, J Randall Keene, managing partner at Ancor, said.
Ancor has previously owned medical device contract manufacturer Avail Medical Products and lists five current companies in its healthcare portfolio. Sentinel also has a history of investing in healthcare companies.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed but Ancor and Sentinel are clear about their targets. Ancor invests in companies with EBITDAs (earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of $5m (€3.6m) to $15m, whereas the target range for Sentinel is $7m to $35m.
