Fairmount Partners Advises GRAM In Majority Investment by Arlington Capital Partners
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – November 13, 2017 – Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing (GRAM), a leading provider of high-quality, sterile parenteral solutions, has a new majority owner: Arlington Capital Partners, a private equity firm in the Washington, D.C., area. Among other things, the new partnership will provide funding for GRAM to expand and add capacity to meet the rising demand for parenteral development and manufacturing services.
“With the health care network, strategic vision and capital that Arlington brings to GRAM, we look forward to expanding our offerings and capacity and continuing to invest in best-in-class technology,” said Tom Ross, CEO of GRAM. “Arlington has a strong track record of investing in pharmaceutical services and shares our vision for expanding GRAM’s capacity and capabilities with a focus on putting quality first.”
Matt Altman, a managing partner at Arlington, shared Arlington’s excitement to partner with GRAM. “The company’s broad manufacturing experience and exemplary quality record provide an ideal platform from which to pursue the numerous growth initiatives we have collectively identified within the large and growing aseptic manufacturing market,” Altman said. “Our investment in GRAM continues Arlington’s history of building differentiated pharma services providers in partnership with leading management teams.”
This partnership will enable GRAM to meet the growing development and commercial demand in many sectors of the injectables market, including biologics and generics. “With Arlington’s support, we are excited to further invest in GRAM and provide a larger service platform to better serve our growing client base,” said Nick Bykerk, GRAM’s director of business development and finance.
“GRAM has added a significant number of new clinical and commercial customers over the past two years, and we are proud to offer solutions to clients throughout the life cycle of the product — from concept to commercialization,” Bykerk added. “GRAM is a one-stop shop solution for pharmaceutical and biotech customers, and the anticipated capacity will further opportunities for growth.”
“We are very excited about our expansion plans to substantially increase capacity with a high-speed integrated fill line, utilizing best-in-class isolator technology,” said Ross. “The partnership with Arlington provides the necessary capital to consistently invest ahead of the increasing demand for pharmaceutical services.”
GRAM’s continued focus on quality and customer service has resulted in significant year over year growth. The company was recently named one of the country’s fastest growing private companies, according to INC. 5000, and is Michigan’s ninth fastest growing private company.
“The additional capital and industry knowledge that Arlington provides will aid in sustaining the historical growth rates, which is good for our customers, our employees and the West Michigan community,” Ross said. “Since we opened our doors in January 2011, the employee count has grown from 16 to over 160 today.”
Fairmount Partners acted and advised as the investment bank for GRAM throughout the process, culminating in the selection of Arlington Capital Partners. Fairmount Partners provides clients with expert advice is several focus areas, including pharmaceutical services; the Fairmount Pharma Services team has completed 123 transactions in 18 countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
About Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing
Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing (GRAM), a parenteral contract manufacturing organization, delivers customized solutions to meet clients’ fill and finish needs from development through commercialization. With capabilities for biologics as well as controlled substances, GRAM’s expert project managers and modern facilities support pharmaceutical development and cGMP manufacturing, analytical testing and regulatory filing. For more information, visit grandriverasepticmfg.com.
About Arlington Capital Partners
Arlington Capital Partners is a Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm with $1.5 billion of committed capital focused on middle market investment opportunities in growth industries including: healthcare services, aerospace/defense, government contracting, business services and software. The firm’s professionals and network have a unique combination of operating and private equity experience that enables Arlington to be a value-added investor. Arlington invests in companies in partnership with high quality management teams that are motivated to establish and/or advance their company’s position as leading competitors in their field.
About Fairmount Partners
Based in Philadelphia, Fairmount Partners is the leading investment bank worldwide for pharmaceutical, device and related services businesses. Fairmount provides merger and acquisitions advisory services, and assists companies to raise funding for acquisitions, growth and liquidity. Fairmount’s Pharmaceutical Services Group has assisted clients to complete over 115 transactions in 18 countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Principals of Fairmount Partners acted as advisors to Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing (GRAM), in this transaction.
Contact:
Neal McCarthy
Further information is available at www.fairmountpartners.com
Fairmount Partners 