Private equity firm Kohlberg & Co. will acquire Cadence Inc., a contract manufacturer of components and devices for medical and industrial applications.
Staunton, Va.-based Cadence signed an agreement April 17 with Mount Kisco, N.Y.-based Kohlberg, which focuses on middle-market investments of $100 million to $1 billion.
No terms were disclosed except that Cadence President and CEO Alan Connor and the management team will stay in place. In a news release about the transaction, Kohlberg says it can use its financial strength to expand Cadence's capabilities and improve service.
Founded in 1985 as Specialty Blades, Cadence has a global customer base of companies needing complex plastic and metal subassemblies and finished devices for endoscopy, minimally invasive orthopedics, laparoscopy, robotics, life science, and specialty industrial markets.
Cadence says it supplies 28 of the top 30 medical OEMs and specializes in surgical applications. Plastics capabilities include 3D printing, polyetheretherketone (PEEK) machining and molding, injection molding and insert molding. The business offers product design, engineering and manufacturing services that Kohlberg plans to maintain.
Connor described the plan going forward as "partnering."
"Kohlberg's reputation of investment success within the medical device manufacturing sector as well as its track record of fostering world-class operational performance makes them the ideal partner to help us accelerate Cadence's plans for strategic growth," Connor said in the release.
In 2014, Cadence was doing the acquiring, expanding its capabilities with the purchase of Plainfield Precision Holdings. Cadence has more than 475 employees, including 75 engineers. Operations include clean room injection molding in Cranberry Township, Pa., and advanced manufacturing facilities in Staunton, Cranston, R.I., and Sturgeon Bay, Wis.
Cadence also does business in the automotive, consumer electronics, firearms, aerospace and defense markets, according to its website.
Founded in 1987, Kohlberg has completed 72 platform investments and about 170 add-on acquisitions with an aggregate transaction value of more than $15 billion.
