Two months after being acquired by a new private equity owner, MedPlast Inc. is on the acquisition trail, buying Vention Medical's device manufacturing business.
Meanwhile, Nordson Corp. is buying Vention's advanced technologies business.
MedPlast, a Tempe, Ariz.-based injection molder and contract manufacturer announced Feb. 20 it has signed a deal to buy Vention Medical's device manufacturing services business. The deal will more than double MedPlast's size.
Terms were not disclosed.
Meanwhile, Nordson has signed a deal to buy Vention's Advanced Technologies business. That business, which is based in Salem, N.H., designs and makes minimally invasive interventional delivery devices, catheters and advanced components for the global medical technology market.
Westlake, Ohio-based Nordson, which is publicly traded, said it is paying $705 million for that portion of Vention, in an all-cash deal.
The Vention AT business reported sales of $150 million and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $48 million for the 12 months ended Jan. 31.
Nordson President and CEO Michael Hilton said the deal enhances his company's capabilities in extrusion and complex medical tubing and balloon manufacturing, nitinol forming and other specialty material expertise.
"We see Vention AT as an ideal complement to our current offering of single-use fluid management components, biomaterial delivery devices, and high end cannula and tubing, and we are excited to bring our combined capabilities to the many leading medical OEM customers we share," he said in a news release.
Vention AT employs 775 and will operate as part of Nordson's Advanced Technology Systems segment.
MedPlast officials are also high on how their own deal with Vention will add to their medical manufacturing capabilities.
"This acquisition will significantly strengthen MedPlast's leadership position in the medical device manufacturing industry," MedPlast CEO Harold Faig said in a news release. "This is something our customers have been asking for, and we are committed to continuing to expand our capabilities in areas that will bring value to our customers."
The company expects to complete the acquisition in the second quarter. When it is complete, MedPlast will have 22 manufacturing facilities, located in North and Central America, Asia and Europe.
The company highlighted that it will employ more than 3,500 engineers, technicians and assembly workers specializing in producing surgical, orthopedic, diagnostic and other medical devices.
In December, Water Street Healthcare Partners, a strategic investment firm focused on health care, teamed up with the private equity firm JLL Partners to acquire from another private equity group, Baird Capital Partners, which formed the company in 2008.
Kevin Swan, a partner with Water Street, said MedPlast will pursue more strategic acquisitions in the medical market.
Many acquisitions
Both MedPlast and Vention have been active in the merger and acquisition market, with most of the deals focused on medical molding. The companies have acquired many well known firms in the sector.
MedPlast got its start when Baird bought Allied Tech Products Corp.'s engineered rubber and plastics group and K&W Medical Specialties. It hired Faig, the former CEO of Tech Group Inc. and a longtime Milacron L.L.C. executive, to run the business.
More deals followed, most notably in 2012 when it bought United Plastics Group Inc., and 2013 when it bought United Kingdom-based Orthoplastics Ltd.
MedPlast integrated most of the UPG medical products facilities into its own operations, then it sold the non-medical facilities last year to private equity firm Turnspire Capital Partners.
South Plainfield, N.J.-based Vention's acquisitions have included Advanced Polymers Inc. in 2010, Atek Medical Group in 2011 and RiverTech Medical L.L.C. in 2013.
Like MedPlast, Vention has worked to maintain a focus on the medical market. Last year it sold its Kerrville, Texas, plant, which specialized in assembly and packaging, to All-Plastics L.L.C.
"We are excited to come together with MedPlast," said Bill Flaherty, president of Vention Medical's Device Manufacturing Services business, in a news release. "We serve many of the same customers who will benefit from our combined offering and shared commitment to providing the highest quality standards and facilities in the industry."
MedPlast ranks No. 27 in Plastics News most recent survey of North American injection molders, with estimated molding sales in the region of $275 million. The company has 10 plants including locations in Chicopee, Mass.; Elkhorn, Wis.; Fremont, Calif.; Monticello, Iowa; Tempe, Ariz.; West Berlin, N.J.; Westfield, Pa.; Suzhou, China; Tijuana, Mexico; and Bacup, England.