Ampersand Sells ViraCor-IBT To Eurofins For $255 Million

WELLESLEY, Mass., July 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Ampersand Capital Partners has completed the sale of majority owned portfolio company ViraCor-IBT Laboratories ("VIBT" or "ViraCor") to Eurofins Scientific for $255 million.  VIBT is a premier specialty testing laboratory, providing complex, high-value diagnostic tests to 550 institutional clients and more than 4,000 affiliated clinicians across the US with an emphasis on the transplant market.  The Company will continue to be known as ViraCor-IBT, operating from its large, state-of-the art facility in the Kansas City area and its satellite laboratory in California.

Ampersand created VIBT in 2009 through the merger of two independent laboratories in the Kansas City area.  Following this merger, Ampersand worked with VIBT's management to integrate the two operations and execute a buy-and-build growth strategy, resulting in two add-on acquisitions over the ensuing years.  This successful strategy has resulted in one of the broadest menus of highly-specialized, complex diagnostic tests available for infectious disease, immunology and allergy complications.  In addition, the Company provides industry-leading turn-around times for its most time-sensitive tests, which assists physicians in making quicker treatment decisions of critically-ill patients, particularly transplant patients. 

Tom Burnell, who served as CEO of VIBT and has joined Ampersand as an Operating Partner, commented:  "It has been a tremendous pleasure working with Ampersand to execute on our shared vision of building the leading transplant diagnostics lab in the country.  With the strength and stability of ViraCor's management team, and with the resources and scale of Eurofins, ViraCor is well positioned to continue executing on its growth strategy in the years ahead."

Herb Hooper, Managing General Partner of Ampersand, added:  "This transaction is an excellent outcome for both VIBT and for Ampersand's Limited Partners.  On behalf of everyone at Ampersand, we congratulate Tom and the VIBT team for building a preeminent specialty laboratory that has helped improve the care of transplant patients.  We look forward to continuing to work with Tom in his role as an Ampersand Operating Partner."

About Ampersand
Ampersand is a middle market private equity firm with a focus on growth equity investments in the Healthcare sector.  Over the past two decades, Ampersand has managed $1 billion in private equity partnerships.  Ampersand leverages its unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive superior long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams.  Additional information about Ampersand is available at www.ampersandcapital.com.

About Eurofins
Eurofins Scientific is the world leader in food and pharmaceutical products testing.  It is also number one in the world in the field of environmental laboratory services and one of the global market leaders in agroscience, genomics, discovery pharmacology and central laboratory services.  With over 15,000 staff in more than 190 laboratories across 36 countries, Eurofins offers a portfolio of over 100,000 reliable analytical methods for evaluating the safety, identity, composition, authenticity, origin and purity of biological substances and products.  The Group provides its customers with high-quality services, accurate results on time and expert advice by its highly qualified staff.

SOURCE Ampersand Capital Partners