Century Park’s Cirtec goes to 3i, after medical-device outsourcer sees 4x growth

Cirtec Medical Systems’ revenue and EBITDA both grew about fourfold during Century Park Capital Partners’ more than 6 1/2-year investment, Chip Roellig, a managing partner at the El Segundo, California, private equity firm, told Buyouts.

Century Park, alongside minority investor Charter Oak Equity, have concluded what Roellig described as a targeted Piper Jaffray-run sales process for the medical-device outsourcer.

In connection with the deal, 3i Group plc will inject $136 million into Cirtec alongside an investment from the management team. Cain Brothers provided financial advice on the buy side.

Helping set the stage for a sale was the Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, company’s July 2016 acquisition of Stellar Technologies Inc, said Roellig.

The Stellar deal rounded out its product offerings, plus filled out the map for Cirtec geographically speaking, he said. Cirtec moved its headquarters to Brooklyn Park in connection with the Stellar deal, adding to its Enfield, Connecticut, and Los Gatos, California, facilities.

Some key appointments in the C-suite — including the recruitment of CEO Brian Highley and CFO Tim Heher — were also important, Roellig added.

While the sales process for Cirtec included both strategics and sponsors, 3i Group’s deep understanding of and interest in the segment bode well for the firm, Roellig indicated: “They were aggressive and were able to prevail at the end of the day.”

Indeed, as an active investor in the outsourced-device-manufacturing space, 3i has had Cirtec on its radar screen for a number of years, said Richard Relyea, a partner and co-head of 3i’s North America private equity team.

Among other things, Cirtec’s customer mix and underlying markets — including neuromodulation and minimally invasive surgery — are very appealing, Relyea said.

“These are fast growing, highly innovative markets which we think will offer strong growth for a number of years,” Relyea said. “We have strong aspirations to grow this as a platform in the space.”

3i Group’s investment plan for Cirtec includes deepening its offerings in its current markets, selectively entering additional therapeutic segments and broadening its global customer base, Relyea added.

London-based 3i also backs Sweden’s OneMed Group, the medical-supplies distributor in northern Europe that it invested in more than 6 1/2 years ago.

Century Park recapitalized Cirtec in November 2010, gaining majority control of the company. Selling shareholder Charter Oak maintained a minority investment at the time.

Action Item: Touch base with Century Park’s Roellig at croellig@cpclp.com

Photo courtesy of johnkellerman/iStock/Getty Images 

Correction: This report contained incorrect attribution on some quotes. The story has been updated.