JLL Partners and Water Street Announce New Investment in Medical Device Services Provider

Health Care and Investment Firms Collaborate to Acquire and Grow MedPlast, Inc.

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Dec 07, 2016, 10:01 ET

CHICAGO and NEW YORK, Dec. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Water Street Healthcare Partners, a strategic investor focused exclusively on the health care industry, and JLL Partners, a leading middle-market private equity firm, announced today that they have acquired MedPlast, Inc. Headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, MedPlast is a leading global services provider to the medical device industry.

MedPlast offers a range of engineering and manufacturing capabilities that support the world's leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with producing diagnostic, orthopedic, surgical and other medical products. The company employs more than 1,800 engineers, technicians and assembly workers who specialize in technical molding, advanced processing, device assembly and implantables with expertise in plastics. Over the past five years, MedPlast has expanded its operations to encompass 11 ISO-certified facilities across the United States, China, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

"MedPlast has well-established and trusted relationships with the world's leading medical manufacturers who value the company's high-quality standards that meet their demanding industry regulations. We will work with MedPlast's team to expand its suite of capabilities into new areas to form a comprehensive, integrated portfolio of end-to-end product solutions," said Peter Strothman, partner, Water Street.

A $40 billion-dollar market, medical device services continues to grow as increasing numbers of original equipment manufacturers turn to outsourcing providers to generate cost and time efficiencies. It is a highly fragmented sector with hundreds of providers offering design, engineering, manufacturing supply chain and logistical services.

"MedPlast stands out for its health care expertise, extensive global footprint and breadth of high- quality capabilities," said Daniel Agroskin, partner, JLL Partners. "Together with Water Street, we will invest our expertise and resources to expand MedPlast's services into high-value areas and build on its strong base of long-term customer relationships."

MedPlast is the second collaboration between JLL Partners and Water Street. The firms recently worked together to build Bioclinica, Inc. into one of the world's leading providers of specialty outsourced clinical trial solutions.

"Our partnership with JLL and Water Street is an important step toward achieving our goal of building MedPlast into an end-to-end services provider focused on the health care industry," said MedPlast Chief Executive Officer Harold Faig. "For the past eight years, we have optimized our capabilities toward health care. This acquisition will give us access to expertise and resources to grow our core competencies into areas that will bring considerable value to our customers."

Financial terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed.

About JLL Partners

JLL Partners is a leading middle-market private equity firm with a 28-year track record of adding value to complex investments through its financial and operational expertise. Since its founding in 1988, JLL Partners has committed approximately $5 billion across seven funds, and developed significant expertise in the health care sector. JLL Partners is a control investor and sources its deals from its deep network of industry contacts, applying its proven, value-oriented and growth-driven investment approach to provide limited partners with attractive risk-adjusted returns throughout all investment cycles. The firm is headquartered in New York. For more information about JLL Partners, visit jllpartners.com.

About Water Street

Water Street is a strategic investor focused exclusively on health care. The firm has a strong record of building market-leading companies across key growth sectors in health care. It has worked with some of the world's leading health care companies on its investments including Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Smith & Nephew and Walgreen Co. Water Street's team is comprised of industry executives and investment professionals with decades of experience investing in and operating global health care businesses. The firm is headquartered in Chicago. For more information about Water Street, visit waterstreet.com.

SOURCE Water Street Healthcare Partners