Fenner plc, a reinforced polymer technology group, has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Fenner Drives has completed the purchase of U.S. medical specialist Charter Medical Ltd.
Charter will be integrated into Solesis Medical Technologies, part of the United Kingdom-based Fenner's advanced engineering products (AEP) division.
The deal is estimated to be around $29.9 million.
Charter, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, manufactures medical devices for the collection, processing, storage and filtration of biological and bioprocessing fluids.
The company had been owned by Lydall Inc. of Manchester, Conn., since 1998. Lydall wanted to exit the medical business to focus on its key industries, President and CEO Dale Barnhart said in a news release.
"The divestiture of Charter Medical is clearly aligned with our strategy to focus our resources on our core businesses in the Thermal / Acoustical and the Filtration and Engineered Materials segments," he said. "We also believe that Fenner's focus on medical and life sciences applications, through its Solesis Medical Technologies group, offers an excellent platform for Charter Medical to continue to grow through providing its customers with customized and innovative single-use solutions."
Charter also produces bio-containers and fluid management sets that serve a range of life science applications including biopharmaceutical manufacturing, cell therapy and cryogenic storage.
Staff at Charter have now become employees of Fenner and will continue to be led by general manager Gael Peron.
Fenner chief executive Nick Hobson said: “In common with all businesses in our AEP division, Charter applies its polymer technology to solving problems in performance-critical applications.
“Charter has a strong, established business in blood transfusion and filtration markets and has exciting opportunities in the bio-processing and regenerative medicine markets, in which Fenner is already active and which are experiencing rapid growth.
“The acquisition of Charter, which will provide an attractive addition to the capabilities and offerings of Solesis, continues Fenner's strategy to develop our medical business both organically and by acquisition.”